Former Australia captain and seven-time World Cup winner Meg Lanning has revealed the teams she believes that have the most chance of winning the upcoming ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025, which will be played from September 30.
Australia, who will start as the defending champions, know more than a thing or two about winning trophies, having claimed seven women’s ODI World Cups titles
While Lanning admitted she would love to see Australia lift the trophy again, the former skipper also pointed out that hosts India could prove to be one of the strongest contenders in the upcoming edition of the women’s ODI World Cup.
“I know Australia has dominated a lot of it, but it’s certainly not a foregone conclusion. I’d still love Australia to win obviously, but I think India are the main competitors,” Lanning told ICC Digital.
“I think India are a significant challenge to everybody. Talent-wise, they’re as good as anyone and I think they are really starting to understand how to win, which probably has been something for them to work on and I think they’re doing that really nicely,” she added.
Notably, Lanning had captained Australia in the 2017 World Cup semi-final, where they fell short against a spirited India, who themselves went on to narrowly miss their maiden title in the final against England at Lord’s.
Having led Australia to five World Cup titles – four in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup and the 2022 ODI crown – Lanning knows better than most what it takes to lead from the front and handle the high-pressure moments of major tournaments.
“They (India) are well led by Harmanpreet Kaur and there are really good players who have got some good experience now. So I expect them to do well. And if they put it together and play well, I don’t think anyone can actually get close to them. They are very good,” Lanning said.
Meg Lanning Speaks About Chances Of Other Teams At ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025
Apart from the hosts India, the 33-year-old Lanning also felt there were other teams that could pull up their socks during the marquee ICC tournament and spring a surprise.
“So you’ve got England, who are always strong. South Africa … who have done pretty well at recent World Cups, they seem to be able to get it together when it’s important. And then, you can never write off New Zealand too. They showed in that T20 World Cup (2024) recently that if you time your run really nicely, then you never know what can happen,” the former Australian skipper said.
“So that’s the beauty of the game – there’s some really good competitive sides out there,” she added.
Defending champions Australia will start their ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 campaign against New Zealand on October 1 in Indore, while the hosts India will take on Sri Lanka in the opening match on September 30 in Guwahati.