Reaching World Cup final helped in growth of women’s cricket in India: Jhulan Goswami

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Kolkata, Jan 1: Jhulan Goswami, the icon in the Indian women’s cricket, seems content with the Indian women cricket’s growing popularity. She feels this has been possible mainly because of the national team’s performance in the World Cup where they finished as runners-up.

Reflecting upon her team's achievements in 2017, Jhulan on Sunday said, “Now the names like Harmanpreet Singh, Veda Krishnamurthy, and Dipti Sharma have been popular among cricket lovers.

"They seem to be curious on our performance in the domestic cricket. Even the media has started giving more coverage to women’s cricket after we return. I feel it is an achievement for us.”

When asked about the failure to win the World Cup, Jhulan admitted saying, “Yes that was truly painful for all of us. But at the same time, it is a fact that we reached World Cup final and played good cricket. One should not forget that we have reached World Cup finals twice. Donning India shirts has been a dream come true for me. So I am always happy.”

She added, “Failure always gives motivation to me. Once I failed in any tournament it helped me spend more time at the nets. Failure is the word that has always forced me to go for more hard work. So, I never get frustrated with the word failure.”

Indian women will be playing against South Africa in February. They are scheduled to take part in five T-20I matches and three one-day international matches.

Jhulan looked quite cautious on the issue as she explained, “South Africa is one of the strongest teams in women’s cricket at the moment. Moreover, South Africa will play at their home. So it will be a tough series for us no doubt. We must have to be mentally strong. I am eagerly waiting to take up the challenge. I believe we will not finally frustrate our country’s cricket lovers.”

Incidentally, Jhulan revealed she has the same New Year resolution which she had been taking every year. That is to work harder.