Overview

• At Captains’ Day events in Bengaluru and Colombo, Harmanpreet Kaur said India will not engage with India–Pakistan controversies and will focus solely on cricket.
• India face Sri Lanka in the opener in Guwahati on September 30, with the India–Pakistan fixture scheduled for October 5 in Colombo under the hybrid hosting model.
• The ICC confirmed Pakistan’s group matches will be staged in Colombo, with four captains physically in Bengaluru and four joining from Colombo for the launch.
• Recent form is mixed for India after a 1-2 home ODI series loss to Australia and a 152-run warm-up defeat to England, even as Alyssa Healy called India tough to beat at home.
• The BCCI-named squad is led by Harmanpreet Kaur with Smriti Mandhana as vice-captain, and captains across teams highlighted rising competitiveness and bigger crowds for this edition.