'Cheer for women's team as much as men's team' - Akshay Kumar rallies behind India ahead Women’s World Cup 2025

Published - 20 Sept 2025, 19:05 IST | Updated - 20 Sept 2025, 19:11 IST

Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar has lent his voice to rally the nation behind the Women in Blue as excitement builds for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025. The actor urged fans to show the same passion and support for women’s cricket as they do for the men’s game.

While talking about the importance of supporting the Women in Blue, Akshay recalled his experience of watching the 2017 World Cup final, stating that cricket is as much a sport for women as it is for men.

Akshay is also seen holding Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana’s No. 18 jersey, reinforcing the idea that whether it’s Virat Kohli or Smriti Mandhana, the jersey remains the same.

[WATCH] Official song for Women’s World Cup 2025 unveiled

"I still remember the 2017 World Cup final. I took a train from Scotland and went to the stadium to watch the final. That's when I saw the passion of our women's cricket team. Why did I go? Because that's when I understood that there's no gender in cricket. There's only one jersey, one passion, and one team. Team India,” said Akshay in a video with JioStar.

“We usually cheer for the men's team. But the real support will come when we cheer for our women's team as much as we cheer for the men's team. The real fan is the one who stands with every player, whether it's a man or a woman. This is the sign of the real blue. 'Jersey Wahi, Jazba wahi!'" he added.

The Women’s World Cup 2025 is set to take place from September 30 to November 2 across DY Patil Stadium (Navi Mumbai), ACA Stadium (Guwahati), Holkar Stadium (Indore), ACA-VDCA Stadium (Visakhapatnam) and R Premadasa Stadium (Colombo, Sri Lanka).

India will commence their campaign against co-hosts Sri Lanka on September 30 in Guwahati before facing off arch-rivals Pakistan on October 5 in Colombo. They will return to host South Africa (October 9) and Australia (October 12) in Visakhapatnam before flying to Indore for the clash against England on October 19. Their next two encounters, against New Zealand and Bangladesh, will be played in Navi Mumbai on October 23 and 26.