Visakhapatnam in the grip of World Cup fever

The year 2025 was full of unexpected surprises for cricket lovers in Northern Andhra, especially Visakhapatnam. On Sankranthi this year, the newly appointed body of the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) announced that Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Capitals is interested in making Vizag its official second home.

Determined not to miss this opportunity, ACA started renovating the two-decade-old Dr YSR ACA VDCA stadium with a budget of ₹ 40 crore, giving it a brand new look. The results were immediate and impressive. Visakhapatnam was awarded two IPL matches featuring Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Supergiants and Sunrisers Hyderabad, giving local fans a chance to witness cricket stars like Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Travis Head, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant in action on home soil.

India’s Jemimah Rodrigues bats during the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup practice session at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. | Photo Credit: KR DEEPAK

The exciting matches and top-notch facilities attracted the attention of top cricket dignitaries, including ICC President Jay Shah, BCCI officials and other powerful figures in the sport. Leveraging the success of this hosting, Vizag has grabbed the opportunity to become one of the five cities to host the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.

“It is an honor to be one of the five hosts of the world cup. The support from ICC President Jay Shah and BCCI officials was unwavering. All arrangements have been made for the prestigious tournament. We have created the best facilities for the players,” says ACA Secretary Sana Satish.

Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur catches balls during training during the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. | Photo Credit: KR DEEPAK

Although Visakhapatnam has never hosted a Women’s World Cup match before, it did host the Men’s ICC World Cup match between Australia and Kenya in 1996, where Australia defeated Kenya by 97 runs. The last Women’s World Cup match held in undivided Andhra Pradesh was played between England and Pakistan at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Vijayawada in 1997, with England defeating Pakistan by 230 runs.

South Africa’s Anneke Bosch bats during training for the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. | Photo Credit: KR DEEPAK

Thus, after 29 years, Visakhapatnam was given the opportunity to host five matches of the tournament, including two matches of Team India. India played South Africa on 9 October, followed by an important match against Australia on 12 October. The remaining three matches are South Africa v Bangladesh on 13 October, Australia v Bangladesh on 16 October and England v New Zealand on 26 October. Except for the match between England and New Zealand, the remaining matches are Day and Night.

Meets his/her favorites

The World Cup excitement actually started in August, when the Indian Women’s Cricket Team went to Dr. It started with YSR coming to ACA-VDCA Stadium. Fans would gather in large numbers outside the team’s hotel in Rushikonda every day, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite players and take photos on their way to training. Adding to this excitement, IT Minister Nara Lokesh’s participation in a friendly interaction with cricketers was warmly welcomed by the public.

This momentum continued with the World Cup Trophy Tour organized by BCCI, where the trophy was displayed at major tourist spots of the city such as RK Beach, Kailasagiri and Rushikonda. Cricket fans flocked to these venues to see the trophy up close and take selfies with it; many witnessed this for the first time.

South Africa’s Anneke Bosch bats during training for the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. | Photo Credit: KR DEEPAK

Andhra Cricket Association (ACA), under the leadership of ACA President Keseni Sivanath (Chinni) and Secretary Sana Satish, has left no stone unturned in the preparation of the pitch. Welcome boards have been installed at the stadium and groundskeepers are working diligently to put the finishing touches on the pitch and outfield. The match on 9 October was the first World Cup fixture under the newly installed LED floodlights at the stadium.

In a special initiative of ACA and Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association (VDCA), girl students from various schools and colleges in the city were invited to watch the historic match live. As an added honor, many will also have the opportunity to stand with the players during the national anthems. To ensure tickets are available at affordable prices, ACA has set a starting price of 100 Indian rupees for all matches and 150 Indian rupees for the important match between India and Australia on 12 October.

“We have never had a chance to witness any World Cup match live, so this is a huge opportunity. It is not just about watching India, we will also get a chance to see leading international teams like Australia, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand and South Africa,” says P Ashwini, a student and cricket fan from Gayatri College for Women. She adds that she is particularly excited to see Indian stars Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues in action.

Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur during the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup training session at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. | Photo Credit: KR DEEPAK

V Amulya, a B Tech student from Dr L Bullayya College, shares his excitement about one match in particular. “I’m excited for the India-Australia match. India and Australia never disappoint, especially in World Cup encounters. The last series between them was intense but India lost the decider but now it’s time for a strong comeback.”

Ahead of the important match between India and Australia, ACA will inaugurate the Mithali Raj Stand and Raavi Kalpana stand at the Dr YSR ACA-VDCA Cricket stadium on October 12. This is said to be the first of its kind for women cricketers at the stadium.

The decision was taken after Indian Vice-Captain Smriti Mandhana highlighted the absence of stadium stands named after prominent Indian women cricketers and stated that renaming the stands after women cricketers would honor their contributions, as well as inspire the next generation of women to enter the cricketing profession. Acting on Mandhana’s call, Nara Lokesh immediately consulted the ACA, which led to a quick decision to honor women’s cricket icons by naming the stands at the Vizag ground after them.

“This will be another feather in the cap for Vizag. In 2016, Vizag hosted an ODI between India and New Zealand, where the then skipper MS Dhoni and Indian players, including stars like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, wore jerseys bearing their mothers’ names as a tribute to the role of mothers in their lives,” says a senior official from ACA, adding, “Now the stadium “The stands are named after women. As cricketers, Vizag will once again create a lasting memory,” he said.

It was published – 10 October 2025 08:40 IST