India Women’s team’s premier fast bowler Jhulan Goswami was a crucial part of the team that finished second in the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup. India came agonizingly close to winning the prestigious tournament but fell short by a narrow margin of 9 runs. Goswami reckons that the defeat will keep hurting the team until they win an ICC event.
The 34-year-old was present in the Fanattic Sports Museum to present her semi final shirt to the museum. She recalled her journey in the World Cups where she ended up on the losing side twice in the finals. She now wants to focus on winning the World T20 to be held in 2018.
“I have played four World Cups and finished runners-up twice (2005 and 2017). Whatever people say, finishing second hurts and till we win an ICC event, it won’t go away. It doesn’t matter whether I am there or not then. The World T20 next year in the West Indies, therefore, is huge for the team,” said Goswami as quoted by The Hindustan Times.
The highest wicket-taker in ODI cricket believes that the team needs to focus on fitness and groom the power hitters for the World T20. “We will need to ramp up fitness and look for power-hitters,” she said.
Need to keep the feet on the ground
The women’s team has received a fair amount of attention after a wonderful run in the World Cup but Goswami stated that the team needs to handle fame well and continue working hard.
“While every team member is deservedly enjoying the attention now, how we handle expectations and criticism will be crucial to how we perform. The days ahead will be tough,” she added.
“I had set a target of 181 (to become the world’s leading ODI wicket-taker) and such was the pressure that my performance dipped. So now, I only tell myself to do what the team needs,” Goswami said.
