Kolkata, Jan 22 During the T20I series opener between India and England, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) officially unveiled a spectator stand named after legendary fast-bowler Jhulan Goswami at the iconic Eden Gardens here on Wednesday.
The CAB added that it has named another stand at the venue after valiant military war hero Col N.J. Nair, with both unveilings done by President Snehasish Ganguly. With this, Jhulan has become the first prominent women’s cricketer to have a stand named after her in a stadium. She also rang the customary Eden bell before the start of the match, which India won by seven wickets.
“On behalf of CAB, I take the opportunity to unveil the Col N.J Nair and Jhulan Goswami stands. It is an honour for me to be a part of this memorable evening as we salute the bravery and achievements of these two iconic personalities,” said Ganguly in a CAB statement.
Jhulan, a Padma Shri, and Arjuna Awardee, is often regarded as one of the fastest bowlers to have played women’s cricket. She represented India in 12 Tests, 204 ODIs, and 68 T20Is from 2002 to 2022, picking 355 wickets across formats, the most by any bowler in women’s international cricket.
She also won the ICC Women's Player of the Year Award in 2007 and rose to number one in the ICC Women's ODI bowling rankings in January 2016. Jhulan was also the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team from 2008 to 2011. In ODIs, she picked 255 wickets, which is a record in women's international cricket.
Jhulan played for India in five Women’s ODI World Cups – 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2022. She remains the leading wicket-taker in the history of the Women’s Cricket World Cups with 43 scalps and was made an Honorary Life Member of MCC in April this year. She now serves as Bengal women’s team mentor in domestic cricket, and Mumbai Indians’ bowling coach-cum-mentor in WPL.
“As a young girl, I always dreamt of playing cricket at Eden Gardens. Today, standing in front of a stand with my name on it feels like a dream I never dared to imagine. Thank you to everyone who’s been part of my cricketing journey @cabcricket,” wrote Jhulan on her Instagram account.
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