Indian men's cricket team spin great Ravichandran Ashwin made some interesting observations after the Harmanpreet-led Indian women's team scripted history on Sunday by lifting the World Cup.

Indian men's cricket team spin great Ravichandran Ashwin made some interesting observations after the Harmanpreet-led Indian women's team scripted history on Sunday by lifting the World Cup. After two heartbreaking losses in finals - in 2005 and 2017 - the Indian women's team defied all odds to beat South Africa by 52 runs in the 2025 edition title clash in Navi Mumbai. Indian women's cricket greats Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, and Anjum Chopra were present at the DY Patil Stadium when history unfolded. In fact, during India's victory parade inside the stadium after the match, Harmanpreet and Co. handed the trophy to Mithali and Jhulan, and they turned emotional.

Ashwin lauded the respect shown by the current women's team. "Even yesterday, the Indian team gave the trophy to Mithali Raj. Why did they do that? I actually take my hat off to the Indian women's team for that. The Indian men's team has never done something like this. Sometimes in front of the media, we say things because that's the media trend - that 'this person did this' or 'that person did that'. But I haven't often seen anyone giving true credit to the previous generation. Usually, it becomes about 'my generation's team is good' and 'your generation's team wasn't that great.' I've seen a lot of such discussions," he added.

"This women's team - Anjum Chopra was there, Mithali Raj was there - and by handing them the trophy, they allowed them to see with joy that the seeds they once planted and nurtured are now standing tall as winners today. I found that fascinating, unbelievably good. Because this victory that the Indian women achieved-it didn't come today. It's the result of 25 years of work, maybe two or even three decades."