It’s here. Eight teams battling it out for the gold at the end of the tunnel. Paltan, we’ll look for the Blue and Gold in that tunnel as we build up towards an epic month of cricket.

Harmanpreet Kaur (India): Kaptaan Kaur, the skipper, the icon, the legend. She’s the fulcrum in India’s middle-order around whom the batting revolves. Her love for the big matches is no secret, and her knock of 171 against Australia in the 2017 World Cup semi-final is what put women’s cricket on the map. She’s coming into the 2025 edition on the back of some solid form, hammering a 69 in a match-winning cause against new Zealand in the warm-up game, apart from her 35-ball 52 in the third ODI against the Aussies.

Amanjot Kaur (India): A finisher with the bat, fielding in the hotspots, bowling the tough overs – Amanjot Kaur – the Emerging Player of WPL 2025,  has Emerged in this last year for the Indian team rather well. She’s nursing a slight back injury that kept her out of the Australia series and the warm up games, but she’s that glue for India in all three departments that provides all-round depth and balance.

Amelia Kerr (New Zealand): The star of the 2024 T20 World Cup, the Purple Cap holder in WPL 2025, we could be in for peak Amelia Kerr over the next month. Her bamboozling leg-spin and her ability to switch gears seamlessly with the bat in the middle overs, has already been on display in the two warm-up games – a solid 40 against India, and 2/26 against India A. 

Natalie Sciver-Brunt (England): The Queen has touched down! England’s captain and gun all-rounder announced her arrival to the 2025 World Cup in style, slamming a 104-ball 120 against a strong Indian bowling attack. Nat’s England come in as favourites to make it to the semi-finals, and given her love and knowledge of Indian conditions, thanks to the WPL, expect her to go berserk on a rampage.

Chloe Tryon (South Africa): The clutch all-rounder is already doing clutch things. While South Africa’s first warm-up game against Bangladesh got washed out, they found themselves in a spot of bother in the chase against Pakistan, at 151/5 chasing 233. But Chloe dug in with a 39-ball 45, carrying her side home. On spin-friendly conditions, her left-arm spin too is going to be quite a handful. 

Nadine de Klerk (South Africa): Economical with the ball, effective with the bat, Nadine, another one of South Africa’s premier all-rounders is coming in with some serious form behind her. She was among the wickets in the series that SA won against Pakistan in Lahore, and has started the World Cup warm-up game with a clinical 22-ball 22 with Chloe Tryon in a tense chase. Trust her to be one of the key performers if South Africa are to make it to the semis.