Australia headline landmark ICC Women's World Cup 2025 as winners set to pocket record $4.48m
The ICC Women's World Cup 2025 is shaping up as the richest and most consequential edition in the tournament's history, with defending champions Australia heading a fiercely competitive field and the winners set to take home a record $4.48 million (over ₹39 crore) — rewards and prize money "never seen before" in the women's game.
A landmark edition for the women's game
The tournament is being framed as much more than a fight for a trophy. The scale of the financial reward on offer marks a watershed moment, underlining how quickly the commercial profile of women's cricket has grown. As the tournament hub itself puts it, this is "a landmark edition that highlights the rapid growth and landmark changes in the field of women's cricket."
With the champion's cheque set at $4.48 million — a sum that would have been unthinkable in previous cycles — teams are battling not just for glory but for rewards on an entirely new scale.
Australia's defence heads a wide-open field
Defending champions Australia headline a competitive field, with the tournament promising a genuine contest for the crown rather than a procession. The presence of the reigning champions at the top of the bill sets the stage for a showpiece in which several sides will fancy their chances of toppling the team to beat.
India's blend of stars and a rising talent — with a notable omission
India's squad features the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and rising batter Pratika Rawal, giving the side a mix of established star power and emerging promise. The most eye-catching line in the squad list, however, is the omission of Shafali Verma, who misses out on the tournament — a selection call that stands out as one of the talking stories of India's campaign.
Live scores, results and updates in one place
The Times of India's dedicated Women's World Cup page consolidates live scores, results and updates in a single destination for fans following the tournament. It sits within the publication's wider live-score service which, as highlighted in its September 21, 2026 cricket coverage, offers real-time match updates, ball-by-ball coverage, detailed scorecards, recent results and upcoming fixtures across men's and women's international cricket — spanning Tests, one-day internationals and T20 internationals.
The growth story is only gathering pace
That momentum is set to carry well beyond this edition. Earlier Times of India reporting on the next T20 World Cup (September 28, 2026) set out plans for a record 12-team, 33-match showpiece to be staged by England and Wales, scheduled for June 12 to July 5, 2026, with the biggest stars in the women's game — including Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Ellyse Perry and Nat Sciver-Brunt — expected to headline the event.
History, meanwhile, favours Australia, who remain the most successful team in Women's T20 World Cup history with six titles, while England, West Indies and New Zealand have each lifted the trophy once. India, despite their star-studded line-ups, are still chasing a maiden global crown in the format — a gap the current generation, led by the likes of Mandhana, will be determined to close.
For now, the spotlight falls on the 2025 World Cup itself: a landmark tournament, a record jackpot, and a field with the depth to make every result count.