NEW DELHI: With the Women's Premier League (WPL) firmly establishing its place in the cricketing calendar, India is well poised to lead the global growth of women's cricket in the years to come, said legendary New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine after her team's defeat to India ended their hopes of making the World Cup semi-finals.

Devine, who captained New Zealand in her fifth and final World Cup campaign, is set to retire from ODIs on Sunday following the White Ferns' heavy loss to India in Navi Mumbai.

"We've got to be realistic about is (that) these things don't happen overnight. We're not like India. We don't have one billion people to be able to call upon. We're literally a small country at the bottom of the world with five million people," she said when asked about domestic cricket in New Zealand can improve.

"You guys have got a billion people here, and how you work your domestic systems and structure is going to be very, very different to how we do it back in New Zealand."

"I'm really excited about where the future of the women's game goes, the support, the attention that it's had over here is really exciting, and I think India can be at the forefront of where the women's game can go. We've obviously seen the WPL and the level of interest in that," she added.

Devine, however, said that stepping aside feels easier knowing New Zealand have a strong pool of talent waiting in the wings.

"When you think about the likes of Izzy (Isabelle Gaze), Brooke (Halliday), Melie Kerr (Amelia Kerr), (and) Eden Carson, the way that they're starting to really grow into themselves, it certainly makes it easier when I do step away after the next game, not before," she said.

This New Zealand team is like her baby and on cusp of retirement, Devine let her "maternal instincts" take over.

"But yeah, it is. You're a bit like a proud mother, aren't you? You've been involved in this side at New Zealand cricket for so long that you're so invested. I'm sure I'm going to go through a few different emotions over the next couple of days, but will take time to reflect on that," Devine added.

The 36-year-old Devine grew emotional as she reflected on whether her team could have approached their preparations any differently after New Zealand's campaign came to an end.

"I thought I was going to get through this press conference without crying, but it's tough, isn't it?" she said.

"Because I know I've spoken about the weather, the weather's followed us, jokes have been made about it. At the end of the day, you just want the opportunity to play cricket, and unfortunately… we had fate in our hands, we lost the first two games, put ourselves under pressure, (and then) we lost today."

"It's hard to reflect when nearly half your games have had weather impacted by it, but we haven't been good enough, and that's really tough, because the work that this group has put in over the last 12 months has been phenomenal."

"… and that's what sucks about sports sometimes, you can work harder than anyone in the world. You can do all the right things, but it doesn't guarantee your results out there when it matters," she said.

Devine continued, “So that's probably going to be the hardest pill to swallow about this campaign, I'm not sure what else we could have done as a group to be better prepared, to be fitter, to be more connected. I don't know. But we've got to dissect it and figure out where we went wrong and where we can improve, which, yeah, it does, it sucks… it sucks.”

Devine also praised her Royal Challengers Bengaluru teammate Smriti Mandhana after the India vice-captain smacked a 95-ball 105.

"I think she's smashed so many records this year, a number of runs, hundreds, and to think she's still pretty young as well. I'm glad I'm retiring so I don't have to deal with her,” she said.

"You don't get to her level of skill without being an incredibly efficient trainer and knowing where your game needs to go and continue to develop. She's going to continue to get better, and I'm going to just watch from the sideline and say good luck to whoever else has to play against her,” Devine added.

Devine said New Zealand would look to go out with their heads held high after their last game against England on Sunday.

"We'll pull ourselves up, we'll dust ourselves off, and we'll go bloody hard at these English people and give them a good run for their money, and hopefully on Sunday, we can leave with our heads held really high," she said.

(With PTI Inputs)