Sunil Gavaskar has cautioned India’s women’s World Cup-winning team to stay alert against people and brands using their win for self-promotion without offering real support.
India’s historic win in the 2025 Women’s World Cup on November 2 marked a defining moment in the nation’s cricketing journey. Led by Harmanpreet Kaur, India defeated South Africa by 52 runs in the final to secure their first-ever World Cup title after falling short in 2005, 2017, and 2020.
The BCCI announced a ₹51 crore reward, in addition to the ₹40 crore ICC prize, with several states honouring individual players. Amid the celebrations, cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar urged the players to remain cautious of brands using their success for publicity without genuine support.
“Just a word of caution to the girls. Please don’t get disappointed if some of the promised awards don’t come to you. In India, advertisers, and brands and individuals are quick to jump on the bandwagon and try and get free publicity for themselves on the shoulders of the winners. Have a look at the full-page advertising and hoardings congratulating the team. Unless they are team and individual players’ sponsors, the rest are only trying to promote their brands or themselves and giving nothing to the ones who have brought glory to Indian cricket,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
Sunil Gavaskar Draws Parallels With 1983 World Cup Experience
The former India captain then recalled how several promises made to the 1983 World Cup-winning team were never fulfilled, despite their historic achievement. Gavaskar noted that while the media celebrated those announcements, many turned out to be hollow gestures made for publicity. Drawing from that chapter, he urged the women’s team not to be disheartened if similar promises remain unkept.
“The 1983 team also were made many promises with loads of coverage in the media then. Almost all never materialised. The media can’t be blamed as they were happy to carry the lofty announcements, not realising that they also were being used by these shameless people. So girls, don’t fret if these shameless ones are using your win to promote themselves,” Gavaskar wrote.
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“The 1983 guys will tell you that so many decades down the line, the love and affection of the simple Indian cricket lover is our greatest wealth and so it will be yours too, when you also put your feet up. Heartiest congratulations once again. The nation is proud of you. Jai Hind,” he concluded.
Last Updated on November 10, 2025
