Victory parade unlikely for now for World Cup-winning Indian women’s team as BCCI prioritises ICC meet: Report

BCCI didn’t plan a victory parade for Harmanpreet Kaur’s World Cup-winning team as its focus shifted to the upcoming ICC meeting in Dubai.

Unlike the MS Dhoni-led Indian team after the 2007 T20 World Cup triumph or Rohit Sharma’s men following the 2024 title win, the women’s team, which lifted their maiden ODI World Cup on Sunday in Navi Mumbai, is unlikely to have a victory parade to celebrate the historic achievement, as the BCCI has currently shifted its focus to the upcoming ICC meet.

Indian players celebrate their win over South Africa in the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup final match at DY Patil in Navi Mumbai. Mumbai(Raju Shinde/Ht Photo)

“Nothing like a victory parade is planned as of now,” The Times of India quoted BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia as saying.

Saikia, who was in attendance at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday to witness India’s historic triumph and took part in the post-match presentation, left for Dubai on Monday to attend the ICC meeting, where several other board members will also be present.

The meeting will be of particular importance for the BCCI, as India is expected to raise the issue pertaining to the Asia Cup trophy, which was never handed over to the Suryakumar Yadav-led winning team. Mohsin Naqvi, the Pakistan Cricket Board chair and the current president of the Asian Cricket Council, had refused to hand over the trophy to the BCCI after the Indian players snubbed him during the post-match presentation following their victory over Pakistan in the final on September 28 in Dubai.

“We will take up the Asia Cup trophy matter with the ICC and hopefully get our trophy back with the respect and honour it deserves,” said the BCCI secretary.

The BCCI is unlikely to make a hasty decision regarding the victory parade, if it decides to go ahead with one, given that the Chinnaswamy tragedy is still fresh in everyone’s mind. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL victory celebration had turned into a nightmare after a stampede outside the stadium left more than 50 people injured and claimed 11 lives. In the wake of the incident, the BCCI formed a committee headed by Saikia to draft guidelines aimed at preventing such tragedies in the future.

Amid no planned celebration in Mumbai, the Indian team will reportedly head to New Delhi on Tuesday to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to a report in Sportstar, the BCCI had received a formal invitation from the Prime Minister's office on Monday.