Jhulan Goswami retirement – Journey of Chakda Xpress: The India women vs England women third ODI will be a historic game for Jhulan Goswami. It will be the last time she will be wearing the Indian blue in an official game. After 20 years of cricket on the road, the curtains will fall on September 24 at the home of cricket, Lord’s. Former Indian cricketers, including Purnima Rau, Mamatha Maben and Rumeli Dhar spoke to InsideSport and sang praise on Goswami’s glittering career. Follow IND-W vs ENG-W LIVE & India Women Cricket live updates with InsideSport.IN.
Goswami will always be remembered as a wonderful servant for India women cricket. Her numbers are testament to the fact.
Jhulan Goswami retirement: From Bengal to Lords, tracing Chakda Xpress’ journey towards legendary status, former India players applaud speedster on eve of Goswami last match
Having played 203 WODIs, she has scalped 253 wickets, taking four and five wickets seven and two times. She is the all-time record holder for highest number of WODI wickets. Amongst the active players, Stefanie Taylor is the highest with 152 wickets. Also, Goswami has 44 and 56 wickets in the longer and shorter format respectively.
A tribute to the GOAT – Jhulan Goswami. pic.twitter.com/TFR2qQaf7H
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) September 23, 2022
Her journey
Born in Chakdaha, West Bengal, her start was not a smooth sail, playing with boys. Like many cricketers, be it any gender, one gets the initial taste of cricket in the local maidans or via gully cricket. Lack of infrastructure meant she had to travel miles for training. As for Goswami, she only got the taste leather ball cricket in 1997. But, it just took five years to break into the Indian team.
In 2002, she made her WODI debut in Chennai. As a new ball bowler, she scalped two wickets and it was her pace, which stood out then. Mamatha Maben was part of that Indian team when Goswami made her India debut in the Test and WODI arena. She is not surprised to see the kind of numbers she has now in her cricket career.
“During the time only, we noticed that she was a young fast bowler with a lot of potential and promise. We saw that seeds from that debut time. I am not surprised with the things she has achieved in her career. One knew that she was there for the long run and wanted to achieve greater things,” Maben said.
It was also her pace, which helped her earn the nickname of Chakda Express as well. She would around and above the 120 kmph mark.
However, Maben did explain how Goswami had to change her game plans little bit. Initially she was all about pace, but with experience, the pacer realised it is much beyond pace. She worked on different areas along with line and length, which helped her become what she is today – India’s greatest bowler.
“She had a raw pace. But it took her around two to three years to come in terms of international cricket. Only raw pace was not going to be enough. That was the journey when I was also there with her. (As a senior) I made her realise the importance of accuracy besides the pace.”
Her fitness and attitude
It is evident that Goswami was always on top of his fitness game. Else, there was no chance for her to last more than 20 years in international cricket. Her attitude towards the sport was always positive. She encountered a number of injuries in her career, but she never gave up.
Jhulan Goswami retirement: From Bengal to Lords, tracing Chakda Xpress’ journey towards legendary status, former India players applaud speedster on eve of Goswami last match
Former India captain and coach Purnima Rau pointed towards her work ethics. “Jhulan was very hard working. Her work ethics stood out. It is not easy to be at the top for such a long time. Her formula was good in international cricket. She followed the basics and her work ethics was always very good. Every game she played as if it is her last. That is why she had an amazing career.”
Besides her indomitable spirit, her physical fitness was second to none in the Indian team. She loved sweating it out at the nets, even if it meant extra hours of training. Such was her fitness that young players would take cue from her training and try to use it in their training as well.
Another former cricketer Rumeli Dhar also opened upon the kind of person Goswami was. But she also touched upon her fitness and training regime, which put her above the rest. Even during training, she would walk up to players and correct their training postures if she felt something was amiss.
Jhulan Goswami retirement: From Bengal to Lords, tracing Chakda Xpress’ journey towards legendary status, former India players applaud speedster on eve of Goswami last match
Achievements and Accolades
- Most wickets in WODI – 252 wickets from 201 matches
- Most number of wickets across all formats – 353 wickets
- As a 23-year-old, she created a Test record, becoming the youngest to take 10 wickets in a game
- She has the maximum number of wickets (40) in Women’s World Cup
- The pacer has featured in an impressive six World Cups
- She became the ICC Women’s Player of Year in 2007
- In 2010, the lanky pacer was conferred with the prestigious Arjuna Award
“She was always a fitness freak. She always went to ground, and on time. She kept on bowling. She loved to bowl in practice sessions, 10 overs -15 overs. That is her hard work. One day she would practice yorkers, another day something else, it was like that. Such hard work helper her. That is the reason she is one of the best in the world and highest wicket taker.”
Inspire youngsters
After her debut in 2002, a lot of cricketers have come and gone, but the women from Bengal has stood firm as the northern star. During the last 20 years, she has inspired many youngsters from different corners of the country to take up the sport. She is mostly referred as ‘Jhulan di’ by young players. The pacer, after overcoming all odds, became a force in the sport. And that has inspired many Indians from different cities and villages to take up cricket.
Dhar also explained how Goswami inspired the younger generations. “Many Indian cricketers have been inspired by her, no doubt. She is a fun-loving person. She enjoys herself on the team and friends and everyone. When she is in the ground or in the dressing room, players loved to be there with her. The girls looked at her training procedures and how she prepared herself. The girls tried to do the same,” Dhar said.
Interestingly, it is not only India cricketers, she inspired, but international players too. Likewise, Pakistan bowler Kainat Imtiaz revealed that Goswami was the reason she became a pacer too.
Follow IND-W vs ENG-W LIVE & India Women Cricket live updates with InsideSport.IN.
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