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In a historic win, India's women cricket team won their first ever ICC Women's Cricket World Cup. This year's match, played against South Africa, was held at the Dr. DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday (November 2). Women’s cricket and ICC-related topics have appeared indirectly in UPSC Prelims and Mains before, though not as a direct question on ICC Women’s Cricket itself. However, since this is the first time the Indian women's cricket team has claimed their first-ever World Cup crown, this historic event can play a huge role in the upcoming UPSC Prelims 2026. Here are 5 key things UPSC aspirants should know about the ICC Women’s Cricket, relevant for both Current Affairs and Sports in India sections: Which is the Governing Body of ICC Women's Cricket The answer to this lies in the question itself. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global governing body for both men’s and women’s cricket. ICC oversees all formats, i.e. Tests, One Day Internationals (ODIs), and T20 Internationals. However, women's cricket was not always under ICC. It officially came under ICC’s direct administration in 2005, when it merged with the International Women’s Cricket Council (IWCC). Major ICC Women’s Tournaments ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup (ODI) – First held in 1973, two years before the men’s version. Also Read | UPSC Prelims 2026: Important Points To Know About Cloud Seeding ICC Women’s T20 World Cup – Started in 2009; held every two years. ICC Women’s Championship – A league format introduced in 2014 to decide World Cup qualification. Next events (as of 2025): Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 – to be hosted by England. Women’s ODI World Cup 2029 – to be hosted by India. How Has India Performed This is the first time India has won this title of World Champions. While India has come close to earning the title some times in the past, it has also not been able to perform well in several other years. Legendary Indian players include Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Smriti Mandhana. Here are the names from the Indian squad in the final: Shafali VermaSmriti MandhanaJemimah RodriguesHarmanpreet KaurDeepti SharmaRicha GhoshAmanjot KaurRadha YadavKranti GaudShree CharaniRenuka Singh Thakur (Tejal Hasabnis, Prema Rawat, Priya Mishra, Minnu Mani, and Sayali Satghare were reserves for India) The head coach of the India women's national cricket team during this year’s 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Final was Amol Muzumdar. Related Prelims Questions (Past Patterns) UPSC Prelims 2021 (Set B, Q. 91) Asked about: The governing bodies of international sports (FIFA, ICC, BWF etc.) — identifying which were headquartered in which country. Relevance: ICC’s location (Dubai, UAE) and structure. UPSC Prelims 2019 Asked about: The inclusion of sports in international events (like Olympics and Commonwealth Games). Relevance: Women’s cricket debuting at the Commonwealth Games 2022 and Olympics 2028 fits this pattern. UPSC Prelims 2017 Asked about: The Women's World Cup (football) – testing awareness of gender parity in sports governance. Relevance: Similar questions could come for ICC Women’s World Cup. Mains Relevance GS Paper II (Governance): Women empowerment and gender equality in sports policy. GS Paper I (Society): Role of women in changing societal perceptions. GS Paper III (Economy/Sports sector): Role of sports in national development; public-private models like WPL. While ICC Women’s Cricket has not been directly asked yet, its themes such as governance, women’s empowerment, and sports inclusion have repeatedly featured in Prelims and Mains. It’s a potential future topic, especially with Olympics 2028 and India hosting ICC events ahead. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will conduct the Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2026 on May 24, 2026 (Sunday). According to the official schedule, the notification for the exam will be released on January 14, 2026, and the application window will remain open from January 14 to February 3, 2026. The Prelims will comprise two papers — General Studies Paper I and the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT), with the latter serving as a qualifying paper.
