Legendary Cricketer to Lead Sri Lanka in ICC Women's World Cup 2025

Chamari Athapaththu is set to lead Sri Lanka in the upcoming Women’s ODI World Cup, hoping to guide the co-hosts to their first-ever final in the tournament’s 12-edition history. Sri Lanka Cricket has named a 15-player squad for the eight-team event, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka later this month. The team features several seasoned campaigners, including Harshitha Samarawickrama, Nilakshika Silva, and Anushka Sanjeewani, all of whom bring valuable experience to the side.

Harshitha has been in fine form this year, emerging as the team’s leading run-scorer with 336 runs from eight matches at an impressive average of 48, including four fifties. On the bowling front, Dewmi Vihanga has stood out, claiming 11 wickets in just four games to top the wicket charts for Sri Lanka.

Chamari Athapaththu to Lead Sri Lanka Squad for ICC Women's World Cup 2025

Veteran all-rounder Chamari Athapaththu will once again take the reins as captain of the Sri Lankan women’s team for the upcoming World Cup. She is among the highest run-scorers in women's T20 cricket. The squad also features a fresh face, with Kavisha Dilhari, Malki Madara, Vishmi Gunaratne, Imesha Dulani, and Dewmi Vihanga all set to make their World Cup debuts.

Sri Lanka, which is co-hosting the tournament alongside India, will be making their seventh appearance in the competition. They earned their spot after securing fifth place in the ICC Women’s Championship standings. The team will kick off their campaign against India on September 30 in Guwahati. Out of their seven round-robin matches, five will be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, with the remaining two taking place in Guwahati and Navi Mumbai.

Sri Lanka were part of the Women’s World Cup Qualifier in 2021, a tournament that was meant to determine the final three teams for the main event. However, the competition was cut short due to the sudden outbreak of a new COVID-19 variant. With the tournament unable to continue, the ICC decided to allocate the remaining spots based on the existing Women’s ODI rankings.

At the time, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the West Indies were ranked above Sri Lanka, which ultimately cost them a place in the World Cup. After missing out on the 2022 edition, Athapaththu and her squad will be determined to make a strong statement in this year’s tournament.

Sri Lanka Squad Women's World Cup 2025

Sri Lanka will open their Women's World Cup 2025 campaign against Harmanpreet Kaur's India at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on September 30. It will be a big challenge for the Lankan side as they face one of the best cricket teams in the world and the tournament favorites. However, they will hope to outshine a few teams and create a few upsets. They have a good amount of experience of playing spin-friendly conditions in Asia which will help them in this tournament. Here is the full Sri Lanka squad for Women's ODI World Cup 2025:

Chamari Athapaththu (c), Hasini Perera, Vishmi Gunarathne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi De Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani, Imesha Dulani, Dewmi Vihanga, Piumi Wathsala, Inoka Ranaweera, Sugandika Kumari, Udeshika Prabodani, Malki Madara, Achini Kulasooriya.