Overview
- A tribute-focused opening ceremony at Barsapara honored late Assamese icon Zubeen Garg, with about 90% of tickets sold and 5,000 complimentary seats distributed to his fans.
- The eight-team event follows a 28-match round-robin across Indian venues and Colombo, where Pakistan’s group games and the Oct. 5 India–Pakistan clash are set under the hybrid hosting plan.
- India arrive ranked No. 3 after beating England in both formats and pushing Australia, powered by Smriti Mandhana’s prolific year and Harmanpreet Kaur’s leadership in her fifth World Cup.
- Spin options led by Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav and Sneh Rana bolster India, while pace depth is less experienced despite Renuka Singh Thakur’s return and recent knocks to Arundhati Reddy and Amanjot Kaur.
- Sri Lanka return after missing 2022 with Chamari Athapaththu at the helm and young all-rounder Dewmi Vihanga prominent, though India hold a dominant 31–3 head-to-head advantage in WODIs.