Veteran Indian woman pacer –Jhulan Goswami on Thursday revealed that she began playing keeping the World Cup in mind always and still winning the crown is her ultimate dream. Recently, she became the first woman cricketer to take 200 wickets in One-Day Internationals.
On 15 February, the pacer returned home after sustaining a heel injury during the ongoing T20I series in South Africa. Now, she will head to National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru to recover from injury.
India have never won the coveted World Cup and even they missed the 2017 World Cup title by nine runs to England. 2018 provides them another opportunity to take a shot at glory with the World Twenty20, which will be played in the West Indies from November 9-24.
Speaking to Press Trust of India, Jhulan Goswami said, “The preparation has begun from the series in South Africa. With about a year left, it's the perfect time for us to prepare in the right way.”
The 35-year-old, who is in her 16th year of International cricket, further added, “If we win, it will be like an icing in the cake. Obviously, I began playing keeping the World Cup in mind always. It does not come every year. It takes four years. It's like winning an Olympic gold. The process take a long time, it does not happen overnight. It's the ultimate dream. The first target will be to be top four.”
She went to further say that the upcoming series against England, Australia, and Asia Cup will provide sufficient opportunities to sharpen their skills ahead of the mega event, saying, “We will be well-prepared. We have a lot of matches lined up. After the series in South Africa, there will be a tri-nation T20I series against England, Australia. There is also Asia Cup.”
Before heading to South Africa, Women Team had a chat with Sachin Tendulkar and Jhulan said, “It gave a positive vibe in the team. He spent about one and half hours, talking to each one of us. He said about the South African conditions and how to adapt and play well there.”
Commenting on Team’s preparation and moral, Jhulan said, “After the World Cup hype was so high, it was about holding on to the momentum. That was our focus. We wanted to keep playing like where we had left. Everyone was focused on giving their best, and play good as a team. We had a fine preparation for the South Africa series, beginning with warm-up matches there.”
In her 166th ODI in Kimberly on February 7, Jhulan bagged her 200th wicket, saying about the milestone, “Never thought about the milestone when I started my career. In a long career, you are bound to achieve milestones. I never ran after a milestone.”
Commenting on her heel injury, the pacer signed off by saying, “It will take some time to recover. I have to accept the fact. It will take four to six weeks. I had an injury in 2010 and before the World Twenty20 in 2016 as well. It's nothing new and I hope to be fit soon.”
