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On September 24, 2022, there was a significant event involving Jhulan Goswami. It was meant to be a celebration of her 20-year international career, with the England players showing their respect as she came out to bat for the final time. She also achieved a total of 355 wickets throughout her career, taking two more in this match. However, as England was close to securing an unexpected win, there was chaos when Deepti Sharma ran out Charlie Dean who was backing up.

After a year and a half, Goswami is now happily retired. She spends quality time with her loved ones and also works with her state association in West Bengal. In this role, she assists in nurturing the upcoming female cricketers and has even achieved the Women’s Premier League title as the bowling coach and mentor for the Mumbai Indians. However, despite her success, the way her retirement match concluded still bothers this renowned figure in Indian women’s cricket.

However, this is not about Sharma’s actions. Goswami believes that Deepti made the correct decision as it was within the legal boundaries. Her anger is directed towards the hypocrisy of the mostly English audience, who expressed their disapproval of Goswami’s departure with loud boos, and the players from England, who openly showed their disdain for the incident. Heather Knight even went as far as to accuse Sharma of being deceitful about it.

During the 2019 World Cup final for men, Goswami states that the ball made contact with Ben Stokes’s bat and resulted in a boundary. Some may argue that the runs should not have been counted. Deepti followed the rules, but the opposing team was dissatisfied. In a high-stakes event like the World Cup final, any opportunity for points is taken advantage of, even if it may be controversial.

“Do you want to uphold the integrity of the game? Whether it’s a World Cup final or a bilateral series, follow that principle. As England, you should declare, ‘It’s in the spirit of the game, I won’t take that four.’ Alternatively, if you want to strictly adhere to the rules, then Stokes’s boundary is within the law. However, you must also show respect for Deepti’s run out. The debate should not be ongoing.”

Regardless of your stance on Goswami’s views, it is widely accepted that there will always be a sense of disappointment in the fact that the focus shifted away from celebrating her remarkable career on that day. Over the course of 20 years, she represented India 284 times, from 2002 to 2022, playing a crucial role in the growth of women’s cricket in India. This transformation has allowed top players to earn significant sums of money, a far cry from the amateur status it once held.

Goswami faced challenges in pursuing her passion for cricket while growing up in a traditional Bengali household. She had to wake up at 4:30 am and travel for five hours to attend training sessions, despite the lack of financial incentives at that time. However, after making her debut for India against England in 2002, she never looked back. Her impressive speed (reaching up to 75mph at her peak) and ability to extract bounce from her tall 5ft 11in stature made her a formidable player. By 2008, she became the top-ranked bowler in the world and eventually retired as the highest wicket-taker of all time.

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Despite her accomplishments, she remained unnoticed for the majority of her career. She believes that the turning point was the 2017 World Cup, where India eliminated Australia in the semifinals and advanced to face England in the final. Leading up to the final match, Goswami admitted feeling immense pressure and struggled to sleep. She was overcome with emotion and paced back and forth in her room, trying to calm down and envision bowling in front of a sold-out crowd at Lord’s.

Unfortunately, we lost the coin toss and England chose to bat first. I confidently declared, “I’ll take the first over,” in order to calm my nerves. I was filled with excitement as everything was going according to our strategy. We were in control of the game for 90 overs. However, India fell just short, scoring 219 while chasing 229, and our hopes of winning our first ever World Cup title were shattered. Goswami describes it as a devastating heartbreak.

After understanding the events that unfolded, she is able to reflect on that day with calmness. “Upon returning to India, we discovered that people had closely followed the match. The level of admiration we received, from our prime minister to everyday individuals, was immense. As a result, women’s cricket flourished – our players received central contracts and became well-known figures. And young girls in our country were inspired to dream.”

Goswami retired with a strong reluctance. When asked about playing until the age of 39 as a fast bowler, she interrupts by pointing out that James Anderson is still playing at 41. She admits that after getting injured during the 2022 World Cup, her body was not able to keep up and she was ready to retire: “I wanted to challenge myself, but my body was not able to support me.”

If anyone had questioned her ability, they should have watched her performance in the nets before the first WPL final last year. Goswami was determined to have one last opportunity to bowl against Mumbai Indians head coach and longtime competitor Charlotte Edwards. “I have taken her wicket 12 times in international matches. I asked her, ‘Can I have the chance to make it 13?’ She initially refused but eventually agreed – and now I have gotten her out 13 times.”

Goswami, a pioneering figure in women’s cricket, is well-suited to play a significant role in the WPL – a significant step in the sport’s progress. It came as no surprise when the team she and Edwards were part of clinched the first championship. Their strategy? “As part of the support staff, our focus was on fostering a positive environment in the dressing room and celebrating each other’s successes. While we can’t control the outcome of the cricket matches, we can control the atmosphere in the dressing room.”

Mumbai Indians will start the second edition of the WPL on Friday with a match against Delhi Capitals, a rematch of last year’s final. Goswami is coaching a team filled with skilled players such as Nat Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Hayley Matthews, who are all returning to the squad. They have also added Shabnim Ismail through this season’s auction and Goswami is optimistic about their chances of once again achieving victory. She states, “We are training diligently as a team and we are fully prepared.”

The following is a snippet from The Spin, a cricket newsletter by The Guardian. To receive updates, please go to this webpage and follow the prompts.

Source: theguardian.com