Indian cricket looks at the future a bit too quickly. Within hours of India’s historic, unprecedented victory in the 2025 Women’s World Cup final over South Africa in Navi Mumbai, the legendary former captain Shantha Rangaswamy had urged skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to consider stepping down from the helm and hand over the team’s reigns, across formats, to vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, saying it was ‘long overdue’.
Now, former India men’s captain and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) chief Sourav Ganguly has put another name in the ring: Richa Ghosh. The wicketkeeper-batter was consistently good throughout the tournament, scoring 235 runs in eight matches. Although she hit a 94 in a losing cause against South Africa in the group stage, her quickfire
34 (24) in the final was arguably even more precious.
The 22-year-old struggled a bit behind the wickets but was the highest run-getter in the tournament in the crucial 41-50-over phase, with 185 runs at a strike rate of 165.17.
“The World Cup triumph is a special, special win and only Richa can tell us what that feels like,” Ganguly said, as quoted by The Hindustan Times. “Your career has just begun. Women’s cricket will grow massively in the next four to six years, and there will be more opportunities. I hope you make the most of them and one day, like Jhulan, we’ll stand here and say: ‘Richa — India captain’. You’re just 22… You’ve got time. All blessings and heartiest congratulations.”
Ghosh received the Banga Bhushan award, a Deputy Superintendent of Police post from the Bengal government, and ₹34 lakh (₹1 lakh for each run in the final) from CAB.
Ganguly also recognised the difficulty of her batting role in the team’s middle order, saying that the value of her contributions wasn’t any less than Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet, or Mandhana’s.
“The role she plays batting lower down the order is very difficult. You get fewer balls, but you have to score the most runs. People may remember Jemimah’s 127 not out or Harmanpreet’s 89 in the semifinals, but Richa’s strike rate of 130-plus made the difference. What she’s done so simply is equal in value to Smriti or Harman.”
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