Tuesday 28 March 2017 16:58, UK
Women's cricket needs a strong and competitive Indian side, according to England captain Heather Knight.
England, who are three-time ICC Women's World Cup winners, host India in their tournament opener, live on Sky Sports later this summer, as the competition returns to this country for the first time since 1993.
Whilst the men, who reclaimed the Border-Gavaskar trophy after completing a 2-1 series win over Australia, remain a genuine cricket powerhouse, India's women are ranked two places below England in the ICC Women's rankings and have yet to win a World Cup.
Knight told Sky Sports: "Everyone wants to see a strong Indian team in the women's game because the support and passion for cricket there is massive.
"India have some got world-class players - the likes of Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami are brilliant players - and they have a few really exciting prospects coming through.
"I think women's cricket is still relatively untapped there. I think it can be a huge revenue generator for the BCCI [Board of Control for Cricket in India] if they can get it right and can really get it going.
"I think India will be very good in this tournament, even if historically they haven't been so good away from home. They have had a very good year and were brilliant in the Women's Championship.
"We're really excited for that first game. We won't be underestimating them and hopefully we can do well against them in Derby on June 24."
Earlier this month, Sachin Tendulkar was named as the UNICEF Cricket for Good Ambassador for the 2017 Women's World Cup and Knight hopes the Indian icon's profile can help boost the women's game even further.
"Sachin is an absolute legend of the game and of course has the record for the most Test runs," she said.
"He is an absolute God in India and for him to show his support for the women's game will hopefully get even more people interested in the Women's World Cup.
"It's great to see him as an ambassador for the tournament and for UNICEF as well. It's really exciting."
Watch England's 2017 ICC Women's World Cup clash with India live on Sky Sports on June 24. Tickets for all matches are on sale here.
