Bengal has churned out a couple of great athletes and through the course of their journeys in the sport, they established themselves in the league of legends for Indian cricket. Yes, you guessed it correctly. One of them is the former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, who is also fondly called, “Dada” and known for his elegance and aggression in the men’s game, and the other is one of the best pacers, India has ever produced, Jhulan Goswami, fondly called as the “Chakda Express or Babul” in the women’s game.
Jhulan also captained India for a brief period of time in the white-ball format and announced her retirement from international cricket on 25th September 2022, calling off a 20-year long career at cricket’s most iconic venue, the Lord’s Cricket Ground, London.
The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) had decided to name a stand after Jhulan Goswami at the time of her international retirement in September 2022. However, it wasn’t possible because of a delay in acquiring all the necessary permissions from the authorities and the Indian Army, who officially owns the ground.
“Since the ground belongs to the Indian Army, we sought permission, and they have agreed to our request. So, we have decided to name the B block stand after Jhulan. She has been an icon of the game and it’s our tribute to her incredible achievements for Bengal and Indian cricket,” commented a top CAB official spokesperson about seeking permission from the Indian Army to name the B block stand after the former Indian pacer Jhulan Goswami to reward her incredible achievements for Indian cricket.
Her glorious career at the international level spanned over two decade. She made her international debut on 6th January 2002 in an ODI against England. She ended her career as the leading wicket-taker (255 wickets in 203 innings) at a strike rate of 39.2 in Women’s ODIs. Her tally of wickets includes 7 four-wicket hauls and a couple of five-wicket hauls in the format. Her career-best spell with the ball in the format came on 5th July 2011 when she returned with exceptional match figures (10-1-31-6) in her spell against England at the John Walker’s Ground, Southgate. Apart from her exploits with the ball, she also scored 1,228 runs in 121 innings, including one half-century with the bat.
She also finished as the 3rd highest wicket-taker for India in the red-ball format with 44 wickets at an impressive average of 17.36 and an economy of 2.02 in 21 innings. She made her debut in the red-ball format on 14th January 2002. Her tally of wickets in the format includes 3 five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul. Her best performance with the ball in the format came against England in August 2006 when she returned with match figures (49.2-25-78-10) in her game-changing spell. Apart from her exploits with the ball, she also scored 291 runs at a decent average of 24.25 in 15 innings. Her tally of runs includes a couple of half-centuries in the format.
In the T20I format, she picked up 56 wickets at an average of 21.94 and an economy of 5.45 in 67 innings with the ball for her side. Her tally of wickets includes one five-wicket haul (3.5-1-11-5) in her spell against Australia. Apart from her exploits with the ball, she also scored 405 runs in 46 innings with the bat for her side in the format.
The ‘Jhulan Goswami Stand’ will be inaugurated on 22nd January 2025 in the 1st T20I of the home white-ball series against England. She will join the list of some well-known personalities namely, Sourav Ganguly, Pankaj Roy, Biswanath Dutt, and Jagmohan Dalmiya who have a stand named after them at the iconic Eden Gardens.
(Quote sourced from SportStar)
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