Thought this year's recently concluded ICC Women's Cricket World Cup was excellent and engaging? Without a doubt, yes. Props to India women's cricket team for emerging as champions for the first-time ever.
But going forward, there's even better news and one that perhaps deserves to be celebrated just as much as the victory earned by Harmanpreet Kaur's team over the Proteas in the final.
In what is a significant win for the women's game and such a bright step forwards, it's been decided that the number of teams participating in the next World Cup edition will increase to 10. In essence, the number of teams vying for the next World Cup title will be two more than the current eight, which was the case with the 2025 edition.
The big step forwards, a timely one in the sphere of the women's game, has been taken to spruce further the bright galaxy of the sport. There's hardly a doubt that the recent World Cup was a big draw for crowds, in other words, a major crowd puller not just from the fan but the advertising point of view, but also a victory of the athletes from different parts of the world.
India became the first-time ICC Women's Cricket World Cup champions earlier this month
Therefore, the ICC, keepers of the game's spirit and ensurers of its bright future, have taken the decision to further build on that success.
Here is what the Hindustan Times news piece said about the move reflecting in, no uncertain terms, the step up that the women's game experienced, "The ICC Board ratified the decision on Friday, reaffirming its commitment to the global growth of women's cricket. The apex body also confirmed that nearly 300,000 fans attended the event in stadiums, thereby breaking the record for the highest attendance at any women’s cricket tournament."
Now, if this isn't massive news, then what is?
