Women’s ODI World Cup 2025: When a 10-year-old’s words moved a team, and a nation

“Australia plays well, but I’m sure India plays better than Australia.”

That was the message a little girl delivered to the Indian team before its World Cup semifinal against the defending champion. Who would have thought those words would turn out to be prophetic?

India went on to defeat Australia after pulling off a record-breaking chase, before beating South Africa in the final to lift its maiden World Cup trophy. But that moment of the young volunteer confidently addressing the Indian players, who listened intently and broke into cheers when the message sank in, stayed with many.

“She could captain India one day, who knows? We need to know her name. We need to remember her name,” Ian Bishop said on commentary.

That little girl was 10-year-old Mysha Mangesh Shinde. A student of D.Y. Patil International School in Nerul, barely 700 metres from the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, she was selected to be one of the player escorts for the national anthems.

Before the semifinal, Mysha walked out of the tunnel holding the hand of Australia’s captain, Alyssa Healy. After the anthems, and a brief chat with Healy, she approached India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.

“I asked her [Harmanpreet] whether I could hug her. She said, ‘Obviously, yes’. I had just thought of a message which I wanted to tell her because Australia had won the World Cup seven times. That day, I wanted India to win and I told the captain the message. She then told me to wait for a few minutes, then took me to their team huddle, and asked me to repeat the message,” Mysha recalled in a chat with Sportstar .

Before the semifinal, Mysha walked out of the tunnel holding the hand of Australia’s captain, Alyssa Healy. After the anthems and a brief chat with Healy, she approached India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur asking for a hug.
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“When my father came to pick me up, he told me that they had seen me on TV. Even my school friends told me they were excited to see me,” said Mysha, who also volunteered during the final, escorting South Africa’s veteran Marizanne Kapp.

Those few seconds of screen time on national television were soon turned into a social media reel by the ICC after India’s famous win. At the time of publishing, that video was nearing 11 million views on Instagram.

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“I was getting messages from our friends and relatives. They were sending me that reel which ICC had posted. It was quite overwhelming because we were experiencing something like this for the first time,” said Mysha’s mother, Shradha, about her daughter’s overnight fame.

A future sportsperson

Mysha’s interest in cricket began while watching Virat Kohli during recent men’s World Cups. Inspired by him, she started playing in her neighbourhood.

When asked whether she wants to pursue the sport seriously, Mysha said her “goal is to represent the country one day.” Her school’s partnership with SRT10, Sachin Tendulkar’s foundation, provides access to professional coaching, and her parents are considering enrolling her in a cricket academy.

Whether she fulfils Bishop’s playful prophecy and captains India one day remains to be seen. For now, Mysha’s next target is simpler: earning a spot in her school’s football team for an upcoming tournament.

Published on Nov 05, 2025