Does Ronaldo inspire anyone of us to play cricket? Has Messi ever been our motivation behind holding the bat? The answer will be negative for most people. For ardent fans of cricket, life rotates around Virat and Dhoni or Sachin. Straight Drives and heroic saves inspire masses to dive into the game of bat and ball.
However, a strange, but the beautiful, story came out in the latest episode of Female Cricket Podcast. With Vishal Yadav, we had the icon of pace bowling from women’s cricket. Jhulan Goswami is one of the most common names of Indian cricket. Her pace has given nightmares to many batters but her entry into the cricketing world is no less than a dream. Out of all Indian stars, she found her inspiration at her aunt’s house. She revisits the days when she was just 7 or 8 years old.
A great chunk of her childhood was spent at her aunt’s residence which is in Bengal. Bengal and football have been very close from times immemorial. As Jhulan pointed, people have a great passion for football. As a result, the passion was seen in her siblings and aunt too. When she was seven or eight, she witnessed the power of sport for the first time. It was the 1990 football world cup. Argentina had Diego Maradona. Her aunt and siblings were a big fan of Maradona like all lovers throughout the globe. Unfortunately, Argentina lost the all-important match and Maradona cried.
It was at the 1990 @FIFAWorldCup that Jhulan Goswami witnessed the connection of fans with their sport. She says that she realized, as a kid, that sports could change the emotions. @FIFAcom pic.twitter.com/iOMmBoVNLs
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 6, 2020
She, then, recalls all her cousins and aunt sobbing as well. It was at this moment that Jhulan Goswami witnessed the connection of sport to folks. She says that she realized, as a kid, that sports could change the emotions. There was an emotional connection that people had with their favorite games. She, then, followed the game regularly and would enjoy the environment of her aunt’s house. It was sporty.
Alike most of the female cricketers, Jhulan, too, had once been a ball boy for her siblings who would play backyard cricket with the tennis ball. The culture at her aunt’s home brought her closer to sports. Her tale tells the strength of sports. Sports have an umpteenth number of benefits on the body but it triggers your mind better than anything. Jhulan was attracted to the idea of playing a sport by watching the love people had for Maradona. We should refrain from a narrow view of things and recognize the collective importance of sports and its amazing impact on people. It brought Jhulan to the field and the rest is history as they say.
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