Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was also present at the interaction session.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday interacted with Wise captain Smriti Mandhana, batter Jemima Rodrigues, and fielder Radha Yadav, who were part of the Indian team that won the Women’s World Cup 2025.
The Chief Minister presented a cash prize of Rs 2.25 crore to the players, continuing the state’s tradition of honoring athletes who excel at the international level.
“Whenever a player from the state performs at the international level, the state government gives a cash reward,” said the Chief Minister. The same tradition was followed today.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was also present at the interaction session.
“It is a proud moment for the entire nation. In the ICC Women’s World Cup, our women’s team has won the title. Looking at history, only a few teams have achieved this. India has won it for the first time. In 2017, we had reached the final but could not win,” said Devendra Fadnavis.
The team has also met the Prime Minister and the President of India, following their historic win.
The Chief Minister noted that the three players are from Maharashtra and were, therefore, invited and felicitated by the state. He also added that the government plans to invite the entire team in the near future.
After meeting Maharashtra CM Fadnavis, Cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues told ANI, "A lot of gratitude to the Maharashtra State Govt, especially CM. Thank you. When you work hard and when you get rewarded for it, it feels special...I think it was our collective dream. When Sachin Tendulkar and Team India won the World Cup, his house and mine were next to each other. I saw him from my balcony and there was a huge crowd in Bandra. His car could not even move. I was 11 years old...That time it was a dream that I wanted to win the World Cup. I can't believe that now this dream is becoming a reality..."
"...I think this win for us is going to do massive things for India. It was just the boost we needed. The pay parity coming in by BCCI, the WPL coming in - already the Women's Cricket had picked up. But now it is going to go to a whole new level...I can't wait to see what is going to happen. In India, Cricket is a religion. But what I am excited to see is fathers coming with their daughters and saying that they want their daughters to play Cricket or any dream they want to follow..." she said.
India won the ICC Women's ODI World Cup final on November 2, 2025, where they defeated South Africa by 52 runs to clinch their maiden World Cup title.
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