Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar, captain of the Indian Women’s Cricket team in the shortest format, has become a household name in India. The 31-year old came into prominence ever since her explosive innings of 171 in just 115 balls to knock out defending champions, Australia. However, when we scratch the surface, we find a more profound story – how the little girl from the small district of Moga in Punjab, defied all odds and socio-economic norms to become one of the best batters in the world cricket today.
While recounting her journey for an interview with FEMINA.in, the Indian Captain said, “I didn’t know then whether women played professionally or not, as all I had seen on the television was men’s cricket.”
India’s outing at the World Cup in England made everyone stand up and take notice. Modern Heroes of Indian Cricket, including Harmanpreet, led the nation to the finals at the biggest stage, and in turn, inspired a generation of young girls, who will get to grow up watching women representation in cricket.
Despite these hardships, Kaur recalled, “Bachpan se ek hee thought tha ki cricketer hee banana hai; koi bhi doosra thought aya hee nahi kabhi.” Her father, Harmandar Singh Bhullar, whose face lights up at every mention of his daughter, was one of the few believer’s in this unconventional journey. “My father always believed in equality,” Kaur said fondly, remembering her father – her first coach.
#FeminaCoverStory: “I didn’t know then whether women played professionally or not, as all I had seen on the TV was men’s cricket,” recalls @ImHarmanpreet, team India’s women’s cricket captain. https://t.co/ULTXLOJ3HM
📸: Studio Narinder
HMU: Upgrace By Jyoti
Clothes: Her own pic.twitter.com/muJuFJ2Xad— Femina (@FeminaIndia) August 21, 2020
The captain spoke about her cricketing career, which started at the cricket academy at Gyan Jyoti School and led her to become the first Indian cricketer (male/female) to play 100 International T20’s.
“To be honest, I did not even know that I was playing my 100th T20 match till the time my team organized a meeting session before the game to surprise me,” said Kaur, while fondly adding: “That moment was extremely emotional for me.”
Harmanpreet captained the exuberant Indian side to its’ first-ever finals of the T20 World Cup in Australia, 2020. Kaur remarked that captaincy, instead of putting pressure on her, motivates her to do even better. Talking about the disappointment of the heart-breaking finals’ loss, the second time in 3 years, Kaur said, “Coming that far and not bagging the trophy was disheartening. We were numb at one point in time, but sometimes all you need to do is give it another chance.”
Speaking on the women’s game and it’s early days, Kaur thought at the beginning, “In order to get women’s cricket equivalent to men’s, we will have to work a lot harder and get people to watch our sport and appreciate it as much.” However, she has much to feel positive about as far as the recent developments in the sport is concerned. Rumors of a Women’s IPL hotter than ever.
The 31-year old points out, “the team performances have gone up, which has added to the popularity and, I believe, in the coming years there will be no difference between men’s and women’s cricket.”
The most important question – what is our captain doing during the lockdown? “I have never experienced being indoors for this long and had no clue how one can survive. I tried various new workouts, learned how to cook and do household work, and got to spend a lot of time with my family which I have not done in the last ten years.”
Our captain left a message for the young people – “Always be inspiring.”
Source: Radhika Sathe Patwardhan for Femina.in
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