India's 'Player of the Tournament' Deepti Sharma: 'This is feeling like a dream'

All-rounders are the backbone of modern-day white-ball sides and Deepti Sharma is arguably among the best in women's cricket. Like every teammate of hers, she would have been itching to get her hands on the World Cup trophy but not anymore. 2nd November 2025 is the day she is never going to forget, nor will the rest of India.

 

A fine knock of 58 followed by a wily spell of 5-39 was the icing on the cake for Deepti and her overall returns in the 2025 World Cup fittingly earned her the Player of the Tournament award. Deepti ended with 22 wickets, the most by any bowler in the tournament and also scored 215 runs across the eight games.

 

"Honestly, this is feeling like a dream because we have not been able to come out of that emotion. Feeling really nice I could contribute this way in a World Cup final," said Deepti at the presentation ceremony.

 

"We have always thought about how we can use the takeaways from every match. Thanks to them (the people), this would not have been possible. As a team, we are feeling very happy. (On her responsibilities and roles and preparation) I always enjoy, whichever department I am in, or whichever situation is. I wanted to play according to the situation. Enjoyed a lot. As a stage, to perform as an all-rounder, it cannot be a more amazing feeling."

 

Both of Deepti's contributions were priceless in the context of the game. When India's batting innings was threatening to implode in the back end, it is her calmness that kept things afloat and allowed Richa Ghosh to dish out an important cameo. Later on, the off-spinner would then take the most important wicket of the match, that of Laura Wolvaardt who had just gotten to a century.

 

"Laura played a very good innings. But we were always calm, and cheering each other up. As a bowling unit, we were talking about going to the last ball and to focus on our best ball, and that is what we did. (On what she wants to see changing) There has been a lot of change since 2017. I hope there are even more matches now (for us). I just wanted to dedicate this (POTS) trophy to my mom and dad."

 

The other major star of the game was not initially part of the World Cup squad and that's perhaps what destiny is all about. Before the semifinal against Australia, Shafali Verma had claimed that her inclusion was probably God's plan to do something special. The semifinal didn't go to plan but how about that for a performance in the Cup final?

 

"I said at the start, that God has sent me here to do something nice, and that reflected today. Very happy that we won and I cannot express it in words. It was difficult but I had confidence in myself - that if I can stay calm, I could achieve everything," said Verma after winning the Player of the Match award.

 

"My parents, my friends, my brother, everyone supported me and helped me understand how to play. It was very important for my team and myself, and I just wanted to make my team win. My mind was clear and I worked on my plans. So happy that I could execute and Smriti di and Harman di, everyone was supporting me. They (seniors) asked me just to play my own game, and when you get that clarity, that is all you need. It is a very memorable moment."

 

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