Indian women’s team’s veteran fast bowler Jhulan Goswami recently spoke about what inspired her to pursue cricket as a career. It was the final of the 1997 Women’s World Cup played between Australia and New Zealand that filled Gowmani with motivation to play cricket.
“In 1997 there was a Women’s World Cup final between Australia and New Zealand and we got some complimentary tickets from our school, so I went to watch it and realized if I start playing, then one day I can play for India,” Goswami said at the ‘NDTV Youth for Change’ event according to Indo-Asian News Service.
“I watched the 1992 World Cup which took place in New Zealand and Australia.. from there I became a fan of cricket. Unfortunately, in our country during those days, only cricket was telecasted on television and no other sports; at times East Bengal, Mohun Bagan matches, or we used to wait for Olympics or football World Cup,” she added.
“I used to be a very sporty girl, used to play and watch a lot of sports. My upbringing was at my aunt’s place where we used to play a lot of tennis ball cricket in the backyard,” the pacer added.
Huge contributor for Indian cricket
The Indian fans would be glad that Jhulan Goswami attended the final of the 1997 World Cup. After the inspiration from the game, she not only played for India but later, became the highest wicket-taker for the country in ODI cricket. Over the years, she has been a prominent cricketer for the nation and has promoted the game in India.
In the recently concluded Women’s World Cup, she bowled a terrific spell in the final against England where she bagged figures of 23/3. Even though India narrowly missed out on winning the prestigious tournament yet the whole country poured praises on the efforts of the women’s team.
