Indian women’s cricket legend Jhulan Goswami opened up about the only regret of her brilliant career, as the veteran pacer is set to say goodbye to international cricket on September 24 at Lord’s.
Goswami will take the field for the last time for India when the tourists take on England Women in the third and final ODI on Saturday (September 24) at the iconic Lord’s cricket ground.
On the eve of her farewell match, the legendary pacer said that she played in the two finals of the ODI World Cup in 2005 and 2017, but couldn't win the trophy, and that's the only regret of her two-decade-long career.
Jhulan Goswami said at Lord’s: “I have played two World Cup finals but couldn't win the trophy. That remains my only regret because you prepared for the World Cup for four years. There is a lot of hard work. For every cricketer, it is a dream-come-true moment to win a World Cup.”
The 39-year-old pacer continued, “When I started I never thought of playing for such a long time. It was a great experience. I am fortunate to play the sport. Honestly, coming from a humble background and a small town like Chakdah (in West Bengal's Nadia district) I didn't know anything about women's cricket.”
On the best memory of her cricketing journey, Goswami said: “My best memory is when I got the India cap and bowled the first over because I never imagined (that I will play for India). The journey was difficult as I had to travel for two-and-half hours by local train one way every day for training.”
She also recalled how the 1997 Women's World Cup final between Australia and New Zealand at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata inspired her to take up cricket as a profession.
Goswami signed off by saying, “In 1997, I was a ball girl at the Eden Gardens where I saw my first women's World Cup final. From that day, my dream was to represent India.”
(With PTI Inputs)
