West Bengal women's team is undergoing their preparatory camp.
Chapter 1: The meeting
It had rained all night in Kalyani where the senior West Bengal women's team is undergoing their preparatory camp. The incessant downpour confined them indoors and a wet outfield forced authorities to call off the scheduled inter-squad game over the weekend.
"Bold of you to brave this weather and come all the way," Jhulan Goswami greets me at the entrance of the Bengal Cricket Academy Grounds, a state-of-the-art residential academy tucked 60 kilomoteres away from the main city of Kolkata.
At 33, with nearly 15 years of international cricket under her belt, I had expected her to be more receptive to the idea of sharing her story, if it isn't a routine already. Her reluctance took me by surprise.
"Could you find a cab easily?" she continues inquiring further.
I nodded, choosing not to disclose the fact that the driver conveniently took me to a nearby football stadium instead, assuming what else could bring a journalist so far into the interiors of the state.
Among many things that stood out during the chat with Goswami, her particular remark about Sachin Tendulkar's hand in inspiring the future generations, very ironically, reminded me of the unwanted halt during my ride.
"In our generation, obviously, there was only one who amplified this passion for the game of cricket in our country and that's Sachin Tendulkar - the way he entertained the whole nation and motivated people. I believe, he played a part in everybody's life who went on to take up cricket professionally," she noted, with utmost respect for one of her cricketing heroes growing up.
Wrapping up 90 minutes later, Goswami guides me to the dining room for lunch. We were the last ones to arrive. I apologize for making her wait longer than usual.
"Is your jersey number 25 because of the birthday?" I ask, as we wait for the cab she arranged to take me back to Kolkata.
"I've changed it only about a year ago," she pauses, from mindless channel-surfing on the television. "It was 10 earlier. You'd laugh if I tell you why."
Tendulkar, I'd already assumed.
"Maradona wore 10!I'm a very passionate fan." Piece of advice from a superstitious well-wisher forced Goswami to make the switch she otherwise never intended to.
Her answer, more importantly, vindicated the driver's innocent assumption earlier in the day. I couldn't resist asking what made her choose cricket over football, having grown up idolizing Diego Maradona.
"Back then, we had to wait four years to watch another football (World Cup) match on television. In between, cricket was the filler."
"In a country where nobody wants to bend their back, Jhulan has inspired the next generation and carved paths for the future of women's cricket in India."
Chapter 2: 'No. 1 trainee'
Her unparalleled commitment towards the game has earned Goswami unprecedented success in a glorious career spanning over 14 years at the highest level, and makes her a unique chapter of Indian cricket's history.
At 33, when most women cricketers are contemplating their impending retirement, unfrazzled Goswami continues as the undisputed leader of India's pace attack.
The fastest bowler in women's circuit since Cathryn Fitzpatrick's retirement in 2007, Goswami is well on her way to also dethrone the Australian as the highest wicket-taker in ODI history.
At the peak of her career, ICC rewarded her with Women's Cricketer of the Year award in 2007, soon after which she was elevated to the captain's post in the national team.
Tad late, but Goswami had another feather added to her decorated cap when the Government of India recognized her contribution to women's cricket and conferred her with the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2010, and the Padma Shri two years later.
That in another few games an Indian pacer will occupy the hot seat in the list of all-time greats speaks volumes about the hard yards she's put in, in a land that showers all the adulation on their batsmen. An unwavering line and length, apart from her pace, remains the most potent weapon in her repertoire.
"In a country where nobody wants to bend their back, Jhulan has inspired the next generation and carved paths for the future of women's cricket in India." Former Indian captain Purnima Rau couldn't have been more honest in her assessment of who she calls her 'No. 1 trainee'.
Chapter 3: Early days
Goswami spent most of her childhood at an aunt's place in Chakdaha, a tiny village in Nadia district of West Bengal, with her cousins and their friends for company. The neighbourhood would gather in their home at night, she remembers vividly, to catch live action of the 1990 Football World Cup. As a young impressionable kid, Goswami too was wowed Maradona - the local favourite - and hence, Argentina. The Andreas Brehme late penalty in the final still irks her.
When the same gang sat down for cricket telecasts, she would enjoy it 'like any other movie'. Six-year-old Goswami started off as a spectator and soon became the designated ball-girl, retrieving balls sent beyond boundary lines.
The '92 World Cup got her hooked to the game. The introduction of coloured kits, white ball, cricket under floodlights was too tempting a bait to resist. Goswami, then 10, had progressed to being a substitute bowler. In the afternoons though, when the friends wouldn't be around, she would give her brothers company for corridor cricket.
"We shattered quite a few window panes of our house, as well as that of the neighbours. There have been times when my mom or aunt would have to cook a fresh meal for the people whose food we spoilt with our 'sixes'," she recalls with a wide grin.
Watching the Australia vs New Zealand '97 Women's World Cup finale from close quarters - her school had received complimentary tickets - was a life-altering experience. Surprised to learn that playing cricket was a career option she could consider and thrilled by Belinda Clark's victory lap, Goswami had made up her mind.
The inquisitive teenager soon landed in erstwhile Calcutta's Vivekananda Park where she spent her formative years absorbing the basics of the game. The train ride, however, would take a toll on her. Just 15 and armed with a heavy kit bag, Goswami would spend two and half hours each way in a crowded local, from Chakdaha to Calcutta and back, thrice a week. It wasn't the travel time or the peak-hour rush that bothered her, but the judgemental looks from fellow commuters.
"Kitne logon ne kitna daanta hai mujhe. 'Ladkiyan bhi cricket khelti hain?'they used to ask. 'Beta, padhayi-likhayi bhi karte ho kya?'"(I've been scolded by a lot of people, asked if girls also play cricket. Do you even study?)
Stubborn Goswami chose to ignore them all with as much determination with which she clung on to her passion and went on to earn a spot amongst the most respectable names in women's cricket. Her story, however, could have had a very different plot line had her coach not made a crucial intervention.
The nets at Vivekananda Park were run by Swapan Sadhu and fortunately for Goswami, a friend from her locality was a regular there. Impressed with the teenager's action, who has had no formal training previously, Sadhu asked Goswami to register herself. A reluctant Goswami opened up.
"Aaj jhagda karke aa gayi hoon, next time kab aaungi yeh toh maloom nahin (I'vefought with my parents to come here today, I don't know when I will be able to come again)."
Sadhu promised Goswami that he would personally come down and convince her parents. She packed up for the day, took the local back home and resumed school the next morning.
"It was a bit difficult to convince the family, because they didn't know much history about women's cricket. They didn't allow me to play."
Belonging to a simple middle-class background, her parents made it very clear what the priorities were - to study and get a secured job.
If not that, then get married, she was told.
To Goswami's surprise, Sadhu wasted no time in making his trip to Chakdaha.
He doesn't like talking much, Goswami had repeatedly cautioned me, much less to the people with a dictaphone in hand. But his tone softened in an instant when I ask him to take me through her journey.
"When I went to meet her parents, God knows what changed overnight, they welcomed me warmly. I explained them why I want her to continue coaching and they readily agreed. They even joked, 'ghar mein ye jitna kam rahega, utna ashanti kam hoga' (We'll get some peace of mind if she spends more time outside). They left her responsibility entirely on me," Sadhu beams with pride as he recounts.
"Till date, I don't know what he said to convince my parents and honestly, I never tried finding out too. For me, they had agreed and there was no looking back from there on. My journey started from there."
***
Chapter 4: The two pillars
Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami have been the torchbearers of women's cricket in the country. As the last standing link between two very different eras of women's cricket, they carry a rich legacy forward. They are now the senior-most pillars of the team - the nucleus that binds the side together.
They started their Test careers together. Of course, by then Raj was an accomplished player of the abridged version of the game and Goswami, well, star-struck by the prospect of playing alongside the girl-wonder.
Her maiden wicket, and as a matter of fact her 100th too, was extra special for Goswami because Raj took the catch. That sowed the seeds of a long, fruitful partnership that, in more ways than one, carved a path for the future generations.
Just three games into their careers, the two teenagers had accomplished what was beyond the realms of imagination. Batting nearly 600 minutes across three days of Test cricket, Raj etched her name in history books by registering the highest individual score by a woman. For the better part of her marathon knock of 214, against England at Taunton in August of 2002, she had her 'partner-in-crime' Goswami for company at the other end. In fact, Raj had combined with the No. 8 batsman for a mammoth 157-run stand - a record that they learnt of only after the former's dismissal.
Goswami had chipped in with a 62, lasting nearly three sessions of play, while Raj's epic stay at the crease was close to ten hours. It had never been a common sight in women's cricket, blame the lack of regular Tests. Quite naturally, both 19-year-olds were exhausted towards the end of Day 3.
"I remember the match was around Independence Day. Whenever I used to tell 'I'm too tired to carry on, she'd glance at the India flag that was hoisted at the stadium and say, 'no, we've got to play on for the country'," Raj chuckles.
"She had that innocence in her since the beginning, that, you know, to play for the country. She has always been that player who would stand up and play for the team.
"As young kids, we took a lot of pride in it. We were lucky in the sense that there were no secondary (benefits) at the back of our minds - representing the country meant we have to be at our best. And as 19-year-olds it mattered to us a lot more. So each time I would complain that I'm tired, she'd make me look at the flag and try to pep me up."
Goswami's version is endearingly similar. Except that she says it was Raj's energy that gave her the strength to endure the challenge she wasn't used to. "As a senior batter she didn't let me take any pressure, she just said 'stay there for as long as you can'.
"We were very tired, at least I was. We'd been batting since Lunch. I told her I haven't batted so much in my entire career put together!
"But she pushed me, she kept reminding that we can't lose a wicket now, not towards the end of the day."
The mutual admiration between the two is awe-inspiring. They are a perfect foil for each other - Raj the gifted introvert and Goswami a naive extrovert.
Even the events that led up to the reshuffle of captaincy, from Raj to Goswami and then back, has failed to have any bearing on their bonding. There was a time however, Raj recalls, when Goswami nearly gave up on her.
December 2005. India were hosting England for a limited-overs series, the fourth game of which was played out at Silchar in Assam. Raj won the toss, invited Charlotte Edwards & Co. to bat first and Goswami's five-for ensured that the visitors were bundled for a measly 50. The chase was a mere formality, completed well before lunch and the hosts were back in their hotel rooms sooner than expected.
Out of boredom, Raj decided to pull a fast one on Goswami. She rang her up, pretending to be a BCC journalist from London who wanted to interview the Player of the Day. Naive and gullible, Goswami took the bait.
"She was very innocent back then," Raj breaks into laughter even before she could complete her sentence. "I spoke to her for literally half an hour to 45 minutes and she actually bought it! She answered everything with all honestly."
When her roommates started giggling, Raj hung up. Minutes later, she mustered the courage to call her back and instantly cooked up a story. "I called her back and said that it was a trunk call, an ISD call and the line was bad, so it got disconnected. Come to think of it, she believed even that!
"Beyond a point, I literally ran out of questions."
Media attention, in those days, was a rare commodity for women cricketers, and it meant a huge deal for Goswami when BBC came calling. She rang up her coach who polished her into what she is today, and her family, instantly after the 'interview'. Next, she ran to the corridor, gathered everybody and with all genuineness, asked her teammates to tune in to BBC Radio to listen to her interview, at which point Amita Sharma, Raj's partner-in-crime, burst out laughing.
"Jhulan instantly realised it was all a prank. She was so furious with me that she didn't speak to me for 2-3 days!
"I apologised endlessly. She kept saying,'ye nahin ho sakta Mithu, tere se ye ummed nahin thi', (I didn't expect this from you, Mithali)." Yet again, it takes Raj several attempts to finish her narration.
"We had so much of fun at her cost. Now she's a pro, she doesn't behave like that any more.
"But I still can't believe that she actually believed everything I told her over the phone, my accent, my credentials, everything. I still remember how sincerely she answered each of those questions."
***
Chapter 5: Getting started
"When I look back now, I was very fortunate that my friend had brought me to the right place," Goswami recollects, stealing a glance at the miniature Lord Ganesha idol kept on her bedside table.
Goswami's coach, Sadhu, is a stickler for rules. A minute's delay beyond the reporting time of 7:30 AM and Goswami knew she would have to take the next train back home.He have any soft corner for the student he knew had travelled several miles, compromising on both studies and sleep.
"He was the toughest coach I ever got. I got a very disciplined life because of him, I have to be thankful... whatever I have learnt from him in my teenage days, has helped me a lot throughout. As a sportsperson, I feel, you need to have a strong base."
While Goswami was impressing everybody in the West Bengal cricketing circles with her ferocious pace and dedication, it was her Under-19 debut that forced the bigwigs to take notice.
Maharashtra were up against 'minnows' West Bengal. So relaxed was the atmosphere in the Maharashtra camp that nobody took the team meeting seriously after they'd travelled for nearly three days in an unreserved train compartment for the low-key encounter. While the lanky pacer's name did come up in a side discussion, the coach was keen to run up an imposing total on the batting track that was on offer, and then rattle the opposition for '50-odd'.
Electing to bat, Bengal piled up in excess of 150 that infuriated the Maharashtra coach. The contribution from Goswami's bat was 30-odd.
Yet, the mid-innings team meeting focussed on how Maharashtra, with the kind of top-order they possessed at the time, could still post a big win. Devieka Palshikaar, slated to come out at No. 7, recalls how the chances of getting to bat in her debut game looked bleak. "That was my first ever game for Maharashtra, you know, with full gear on and I was all so charged up. But it didn't look like I'll get to bat. He (coach) had confidence in our batting because our top-order was quite good," she narrates the episode from 1999.
Palshikhaar did get to bat, and score a fifty on debut, this after Bengal had heavyweights Maharashtra reeling at 17 for 5 in under 10 overs! Opening the attack ahead of experienced pacers, Goswami accounted for three top-order batters, while Rumeli Dhar, her fellow debutant, got rid of the other two.
Palshikaar, who would go on to become Goswami's Air India and national teammate in the years to come, admits staring blankly at the coach, who was equally shaken-up, if not more.
"She'd bowled beautifully. That was the first ever game of my life and I stood there literally blank. I looked at my coach before walking out and he said, 'beta dekhlo jo bhi kar sakte ho, jitne overs nikal sakte ho'(try to play as many overs as you can). I don't think I will ever forget his words, his desperation, or Jhulu's spell. That's how stunned we all were."
To add insult to injury, Goswami defended two off the final over to hand Bengal an unlikely win.
Seventeen years on, Palshikaar graciously accepts defeat and credits Goswami for the upset from where the latter's career took off.
Such was the impact that Goswami was rewarded with her senior Bengal debut the same year and an East zone call-up followed soon after.
"When she came, obviously, her game was not as polished. She was still raw. But she was always looking to educate herself," mentions former India cricketer Lopamudra Banerjee. As her coach when Goswami made her West Bengal senior debut, Banerjee has seen the pacer evolve from a shy, timid girl to one of India's most prolific players. "She learnt by observing other players - their game and routines... Jhulu was always determined to play better than the rest," she points out.
Next up in the calendar was Rani Jhansi Trophy. The star-studded Air India side of the late-90s brushed aside East Zone in no time but Goswami's long run-up, which was unheard of for an East Zone player, and aggressive bowling left a lasting impact on the opposition's captain.
Waiting for her friend in the team bus, Goswami was approached Purnima Rau. Those were the days when both teams traveled together. Star-struck, Goswami couldn't decline Rau's request. The ride back home was, by her own admission, the most bizarre interview Goswami ever had to face.
"I asked her who her favourite singer was," Rau fondly recalls the bus ride. "She said Kishore Kumar and I thought to myself, 'off to a good start'.
"Next, I asked who her favourite cricketer was and she named Kapil Dev. I said, 'works with me'. She was totally in sync. Even at that young age, she knew what she was talking."
Rau instantly went back to her team manager - Fiona Fernandes - and requested her to consider signing the prodigious pacer.
Months later, when Rau offered her the Air India Sports Promotion Board contract at the India probables camp in Chandigarh in 2000, Goswami put them on hold and instantly rang her coach back home.
"I asked her to not even think twice and just accept the opportunity." Elation would have be an understatement. Sadhu had no qualms about Goswami making the move to Air India, leaving behind the state team. After all, it was one of the finest finishing schools.
Goswami's confidence and self-belief grew at Air India, opines Rau, recalling an episode from her days as the captain. Air India were about 30 short of the target when she walked out to bat and joined her captain who had already notched up a fifty by then. "I got the shock of my life when she turned to me and said 'we'll win, Puri di,you just pass the strike to me'. But she did it.
"We won it easily. Being the senior player, having done the bulk of scoring, I played a second fiddle to her - such was her confidence."
As Air India ceased to be a part of the domestic circuit after BCCI took over, arch-rivals Railways couldn't have found a more opportune moment to poach the cream of the team - Mithali Raj, Rumeli Dhar and many others. Goswami too got an offer. However, after careful deliberation, she decided to go back to her roots instead.
Still a sincere employee of Air India, Goswami is content leading the next crop of players in the state. "The beauty of her character is that she always tries to groom the girls," says former India cricketer Mithu Mukherjee, who currently heads the selection panel at Cricket Association of Bengal. "She'll sit down with them and emphasizes on how to train, asks them what they want, discusses the game with them. She will do everything that she can for this Bengal team."
***
Chapter 6: The Golden phase
Her maiden World Cup in 2005 marked the beginning of an upward curve in Goswami's career. With 13 wickets in eight games, including the final they lost, Goswami finished as the third-best bowler of the tournament - only behind India's Neetu David and Amita Sharma.
Carrying forward her stellar form, the 22-year-old inspired her team to a historic Test triumph in England the following year. Promoted as Raj's deputy, Goswami, eager to prove her Test credentials, knew this was her chance to step out of the shadows of the seniors. And she couldn't have asked for a better setting than the bowler-friendly conditions on offer in England.
After Anjum Chopra's 98 set the platform for India's total of 307, Goswami ripped apart the hosts' top order, reducing them to 22 for 3 with their skipper Charlotte Edwards unwell. When she did come out to bat though, Goswami cut her stay short to stun the hosts by shooting them out for a measly 99.
Following on, Edwards led England's revival with an unbeaten century at stumps on Day 3 but their slim chances of salvaging a draw faded the fourth morning. England had barely added seven runs to their overnight score when calamity struck. Goswami sent back the captain, her partner in the 178-run stand Caroline Atkins and Jenny Gunn for the addition of another 19 runs to England's second-innings total. Her five-for in back-to-back innings set India on course for an upset series win - their first on English soil.
"Test cricket is a such format that you need to pick all those 20 wickets if you want to win. I knew I deserved to take wickets because my rhythm was very good and I was enjoying my bowling. I was able to swing the ball both ways, and I enjoyed the challenge. The way I wanted to bowl, the way I wanted to swing it, I could execute very well.
"And I had good support from the other end too - Amita (Sharma), Rumeli (Dhar) bowled well too. If you don't bowl well in partnerships, it becomes very difficult to pick wickets. They contained the batters form one end and I could pick wickets from the other. It was a team effort."
That after a defiant 228-ball 69 as a nightwatchman in Leicester's series opener - the joint-highest for an Indian in their first innings. That was total fluke, she says in the hindsight. "I knew I could make runs if I applied myself and stayed there in the middle. I was made the vice-captain and I am proud that I could perform my responsibilities (on that tour)."
Growing up, Goswami dreamt of making it to the same elite league as her bowling idol Fitzpatrick. She would look to learn from the Australian's game preparation, emulate her and Glenn McGrath in the nets and aspired to bowl as fast.
By the time she earned the fastest bowler's tag she had craved for, after Fitzpatrick hung up her boots in March of 2007, Goswami had the maturity to understand that the milestone was just the beginning of a lifetime of lessons.
"People praise you only till the time you are performing on the field; the day you stop, they won't even look back at your career. You have to be practical as a player and keep performing. Its nice all this adulation, but you have to learn to keep up the good work too."
And then came the ICC recognition in 2007. In the year when none of her male counterparts could even make it to nominations, Goswami became the first Indian female cricketer to bag the coveted ICC Women's Player of the Year trophy. That she beat Lisa Sthalekar and Claire Taylor to it was the icing on the cake.
"The nomination in itself was a big achievement for me. I was happy that I got nominated along with some of the superstars of the game but never did I imagine I could win it too," Goswami says. The name, fame and recognition it brought, also increased the responsibility tremendously. "It taught me the real deal that pressure is.
"I knew there were more eyes on me than ever and that people are constantly scrutinizing my performances more closely now." The next challenge was to keep up that level, where she did not disappoint.
Captaincy was not too far now.
***
Chapter 7: The WCAI days
Women's Cricket Association of India, or WCAI, neither had the money to run the game, not the kind of infrastructure that the BCCI has provided since the takeover. But talk to any cricketer who plied their trade in the cash-deprived era and you are bound to stumble upon endearing anecdotes of those who defied all odds and had the courage to take women's cricket forward in the country.
Travelling unreserved, at times even for days at a stretch; not getting paid for what was their profession, being put up in school classrooms, limited access to the infrastructure - the women were used to step-motherly treatment. And yet, the era produced some of the finest players who rewrote the history of the game. Goswami, along with Mithali Raj, are the last-two active members of the family that ceased to exist in 2006.
"We were happy with whatever we had. We didn't have any idea back then that BCCI and WCAI would merge one day, or that we'd have all these facilities some day, we just wanted to play the game because we loved it," Goswami puts forward her pragmatic view.
"I think our seniors set a very good example for us. Diana Edulji, Shantha Rangaswamy, Mithu Mukherjee, Lopamudra Bhattacharya, Purnima Rau, Anjum Chopra, Anju Jain, Neetu David, Mithali Raj later on - that era too had produced such world-class cricketers.
"We, frankly, never felt that we're lacking anything. Purnima Rau, Anjum and Anju were the stalwarts when I was growing up. Sharing the dressing room with them I realised that they too had gone through the same. So, at least I felt that if they can (become heroes), why can't I do the same."
Still a teenager when she chose to became a part of the 'system' that never treated its women fairly, Goswami had never harboured expectations of a lifestyle that she knew cricket can't afford to give her.
Air India, one of the few associations who could offer a job and a stipend to women cricketers, however, couldn't afford plush hotels. The team of 16 was allotted a 3 bedroom setup in Bandra, Mumbai.
"We had to manage everything by ourselves. So, I as the team captain, would form a 'transport committee' who would go out and fetch autos for us to get to the ground. Then there was house-keeping committee, municipality committee who was incharge of cleanliness, food incharge, a training incharge, entertainment incharge. And Jhulu would always be one of my cabinet ministers!' Rau laughs.
The team - all 16 of them - slept together on the floor, discussing the game endlessly into the night. "I've learnt a lot in that Air India flat. We used to spend most of our time in Puri di's room, asking how to react in tense situations, how to handle pressure, how to hold our nerve in crucial moment, how to implement the plans at the right time. Those endless discussions have helped me understand the game better, I feel," Goswami remembers fondly.
"When these girls didn't do well on the field, they were nowhere to be seen," Rau adds. "Those were the most peaceful days of my life!"
End of the day, cricket remained her priority and Goswami didn't want a compromise there.
Of course, a lot has changed since then. BCCI has offered contracts, upto Rs. 15 lakhs annually, giving the girls job security, apart from other humane provisions that they always deserved. Over the last decade, the recognition and influx of money in women's cricket has played a significant hand in minimising stereotypes and unearthing talent from nook and corners of the country.
"We're happy that the current generation doesn't have to struggle the way we or the ones before us did. Its commendable the way BCCI is taking care of women's cricket now. That's what we've always wanted. And now, it is up to us to raise the bar further."
***
Chapter 8: Captaincy
Many termed the sacking of Raj as a knee-jerk reaction from the newly-appointed selection committee. England had swept the five-match ODI series 4-0, the last one abandoned due heavy rain. But what came as a surprise to many was just another recognition Goswami deserved for the hard yards she had put in.
Nearly a decade into the business, Goswami hadn't led a team before. And yet, captaincy was a challenge she accepted, like any other, with open arms.
Her term at the helm also coincided with the retirement of seniors, while the young batch of Harmanpreet Kaur, Gouher Sultana, Poonam Raut and others was making their way in. The challenge for the rookie captain was to ensure a balanced team composition with a healthy mix of seniors and juniors.
"The best thing about Jhulan was that she would make all the efforts to keep the team together. She was very aggressive so naturally people followed suit. It was a contrast, honestly. Mithali is the cool one. (They had) their own different styles, but it worked well for the team at the time," says Rau, who was a part of the panel that made Goswami in charge.
When Goswami's on-field performances dropped, the selectors sprang another surprise by throwing the captaincy hat to Anjum Chopra, who was recalled after spending two years in the wilderness. Less than six months into it, Raj's consistency forced the panel to reinstate her.
"The change of captaincy is not something I can comment on, but no, that did not affect our friendship or our equation as a team. Not at all. I have a lot of respect for Mithali because they way she has set up an example of all of us."
Representing the country has been foremost for Goswami and she was lucky to have retained her spot despite all the turmoil. Relieved of captaincy after over three years in the hot seat, she went back to basics when thrown the lifeline to revive her career. Her aim was to be back among wickets, to contribute to team's wins. All else is a part and parcel of the game, she insists.
"When you walk down a path, and for so long, you will scale many milestones. But you will have to move past them to make further progress. I've been very clear about that."
Raj is more critical in her assessment of what she thinks was a learning curve for both of them. "I honestly felt that when she was leading, and remember she was still the opening bowler for the team, she was too overloaded with responsibility.
"Not saying that she was a bad captain. But what happens is that as a bowler, you set your own field, and that one over you are always thinking of just your bowling. As a strike bowler, she would want to give her team the right start. And the day she wouldn't - and its natural, it would reflect. (She knew) if she wouldn't get her team the wickets in the first few overs, there would be much more burden on her spinners, and as a captain you'd always want to deliver."
Captaincy or not, and irrespective of how her day went, Goswami has always been a live wire on the field. Playing in front of near-empty stands,the players tend to zone out, more so as the day progresses. But there would always be one voice, from a far-off corner of the ground, trying to lift their spirits. "There have been a lot of times when I was the captain, but suddenly in a very quiet stadium, you'll hear this one player encouraging the team on. Every time I had looked around, there she would be standing at third man or deep square leg, so full of energy," Raj shares.
***
Chapter 9: The heartbreaks
There is a sense of discomfort in her tone as she lists down two defeats - in 2009 Cricket World Cup and the succeeding 2010 ICC World Twenty20 - amongst the most heartbreaking on-field moments.
"I can't digest defeat, I am a very bad loser. There have been times when I got sleepless nights because of it," she looks away at the muted television in front of her.
At the 50-over event in Australia, under Goswami's captaincy, India had done exceedingly well to make it to the Super Six stage. But their campaign came crashing down after one mediocre outing against New Zealand. In the briefest version, the next year in West Indies, nerves got the better them in the semifinal clash against the eventual winners Australia.
"I believe, we were in very good position to win. We had momentum on our side. But unfortunately we lost (both). I guess we couldn't handle the pressure well," Goswami gives an honest evaluation. "It took me few days to digest what had happened. I kept thinking what went wrong, what we could have done differently and that I should have performed better."
Run out on both occasions, as a captain, she feels, her failure to build on the platform provided kept the team to modest totals, making it difficult for her bowlers to contain the opposition. She managed only one wicket, both games put together.
The run-out jinx came back to haunt her, six years later, at what was being considered as India's most realistic chance of earning the coveted ICC title that has always eluded them.
As bizarre a coincidence as it may sound, India's modest chase of 115 collapsed dramatically after a Hayley Matthews's throw found Goswami short of her crease, trying to fetch a crucial couple in a tense finish against West Indies to seal a semifinal spot in the 2016 World T20.
A virtual knockout, India's final league game with the eventual winners was seen as a perfect prelude to the blockbuster Indo-Pak clash that was to follow in the men's event. The stadium in Mohali, even though not filled to capacity, provided just the ambiance the women's team always yearned for. Letting the country and her team down didn't go down very well with Goswami.
"I was in a position where I could have won the game for my team and at that stage if you get run out, I believe that's the worst (way to get out) when you're in flow."
A mix-up with Shikha Pandey in the 19th over, just as more fans were trickling in, evoked strong reactions from members of the men's team too. Goswami had dispatched the West Indies captain into the long-on stands just off the previous delivery. The equation was down to 12 off last nine, and manageable.
Even as she put on a brave face after India's lacklustre exit and went around for the customary handshakes, it remains one of those rare failures that will rile up an otherwise composed Goswami, shares Rau, who is now the head coach of the team.
"I'm still stuck in that moment, I'm sure she is too.'
***
Chapter 10: Life outside cricket
That is, probably, what makes Rau say, in a very matter-of-factly tone, that, "if you take cricket out of Jhulu's life, I don't think there is that relentless passion for anything else." Palshikaar nods in agreement. Goswami doesn't want to contest her claim either.
Raj peels back the layers to show us more of Goswami's cricket-obsessed character.
In England during the 2012 tour, Raj and Niranjana Nagarajan, along with Goswami, were waiting for someone at their hotel lobby to join them for dinner when a 'familiar face' walked past them. Goswami and Nagarajan instantly pulled out their phones and asked Raj to click a photo of them together.
"Since these people were taking a picture, I thought maybe I should also get one clicked. I had no idea who he was, he looked very familiar but I just could not recollect the name. But I took a picture (with him) anyway."
While the other three spoke for the next few minutes, Raj stood their awkwardly and zoned out a little later, still struggling to put a name to the face. "After he left, I asked Jhulu who was this guy you were so keen to click a picture with and, would you believe it, it was Michael Holding! I was stunned."
Perplexed, Goswami went on for a while detailing on Holding's every notable bowling figures and statistics. "I told her that if I ever get a chance to be on Kaun Banega Crorepati and get a question on any of men's cricket, I know who to call. She literally knows all about men's cricket too!"
Once off the field, Goswami likes to switch off with old classics of Kishore Kumar. "Her singing is as bad as her dance," says Palshikaar, who has been Goswami's roommate, and often been subjected to her 'schezuan chicken with roti' cravings. "But she makes a sincere effort. Jhulu is willing to learn everything that she can."
Rau chips in with more insights, "Right from the start of the session till the end, she will be there dancing with everyone. But there is no rhythm at all! Her expressions would be so intense but she's totally out of sync. On the field, thankfully, she's got that beautiful rhythm, every stride is measured. But her dance steps..."
***
Chapter 11: The missing piece
There aren't many as accurate or astute in the current Indian setup to challenge her role as the pace spearhead of the team, and despite years of service, she's well aware that she can't take her spot in the team for granted. Whether with the state team or the Indian, she wouldn't shun hard work, you'd be told repeatedly. Sweets are a rare luxury, even during off season. Goswami keeps the trainer and the physio by her side, and the time in the gym has only increased with age.
"If you have that passion to play for your country, then you will spend enough time on your training. I know my body, I know my strengths and weaknesses. If my processes are in place, I know I will be able to give my hundred per cent."
"It still rankles her when she fails to get a wicket," notes Banerjee, or Lopa di, as Goswami fondly calls her. "She'd be back to normal in the very next game as soon as she bags a wicket, but she'd be extremely restless for the time in between. You can try explaining her endlessly that all days are not the same, and that sometimes you will not get a wicket, but she'd still be very angry with herself. Only a wicket in the next game would give her the mental satisfaction." That passion to learn and excel, even after a staggering tally of 175 ODI wickets, has only grown with every passing game, feels the current East Zone representative on the national selection panel.
While one thing she wants Goswami to accomplish is leading West Bengal to the domestic title, Banerjee also understands what winning a World Cup for her country means to her.
An ICC title is probably the only thing missing in her elaborate trophy cabinet. 'World Cup winner' is the only prefix to her name she yearns for. The childlike innocence with which she says it, almost on cue, you know that she's rehearsed it far too many times now.
And she will reiterate a few more times in the lead up to the 2017 megaevent that'll take her back to the country which has been a happy hunting ground for her. Against the backdrop of mounting expectations, Goswami will be leading India's charge in conditions that won't seem alien anymore. The pressure to win one, after eight unsuccessful attempts, would still be as intense.
World Cup or not, back in Kolkata, which is now Goswami's home for the better part of the year, Sadhu has already decided on a new name for the academy in the honour of inarguably its finest scholar.
Now 69 and fragile, Sadhu prefers to sit with the parents in a corner under the shadow of the trees beside the nets, but has his eyes on everything that's going on at practice. The fading eyesight has failed to curb his passion for the game, for nurturing talent.
"But the day she retires from international cricket, I'm going to hand it all over to Jhul and retire too."
It had rained all night in Kalyani where the senior West Bengal women's team is undergoing their preparatory camp. The incessant downpour confined them indoors and a wet outfield forced authorities to call off the scheduled inter-squad game over the weekend.
"Bold of you to brave this weather and come all the way," Jhulan Goswami greets me at the entrance of the Bengal Cricket Academy Grounds, a state-of-the-art residential academy tucked 60 kilomoteres away from the main city of Kolkata.
At 33, with nearly 15 years of international cricket under her belt, I had expected her to be more receptive to the idea of sharing her story, if it isn't a routine already. Her reluctance took me by surprise.
"Could you find a cab easily?" she continues inquiring further.
I nodded, choosing not to disclose the fact that the driver conveniently took me to a nearby football stadium instead, assuming what else could bring a journalist so far into the interiors of the state.
Among many things that stood out during the chat with Goswami, her particular remark about Sachin Tendulkar's hand in inspiring the future generations, very ironically, reminded me of the unwanted halt during my ride.
"In our generation, obviously, there was only one who amplified this passion for the game of cricket in our country and that's Sachin Tendulkar - the way he entertained the whole nation and motivated people. I believe, he played a part in everybody's life who went on to take up cricket professionally," she noted, with utmost respect for one of her cricketing heroes growing up.
Wrapping up 90 minutes later, Goswami guides me to the dining room for lunch. We were the last ones to arrive. I apologize for making her wait longer than usual.
"Is your jersey number 25 because of the birthday?" I ask, as we wait for the cab she arranged to take me back to Kolkata.
"I've changed it only about a year ago," she pauses, from mindless channel-surfing on the television. "It was 10 earlier. You'd laugh if I tell you why."
Tendulkar, I'd already assumed.
"Maradona wore 10!I'm a very passionate fan." Piece of advice from a superstitious well-wisher forced Goswami to make the switch she otherwise never intended to.
Her answer, more importantly, vindicated the driver's innocent assumption earlier in the day. I couldn't resist asking what made her choose cricket over football, having grown up idolizing Diego Maradona.
"Back then, we had to wait four years to watch another football (World Cup) match on television. In between, cricket was the filler."
"In a country where nobody wants to bend their back, Jhulan has inspired the next generation and carved paths for the future of women's cricket in India."
Chapter 2: 'No. 1 trainee'
Her unparalleled commitment towards the game has earned Goswami unprecedented success in a glorious career spanning over 14 years at the highest level, and makes her a unique chapter of Indian cricket's history.
At 33, when most women cricketers are contemplating their impending retirement, unfrazzled Goswami continues as the undisputed leader of India's pace attack.
The fastest bowler in women's circuit since Cathryn Fitzpatrick's retirement in 2007, Goswami is well on her way to also dethrone the Australian as the highest wicket-taker in ODI history.
At the peak of her career, ICC rewarded her with Women's Cricketer of the Year award in 2007, soon after which she was elevated to the captain's post in the national team.
Tad late, but Goswami had another feather added to her decorated cap when the Government of India recognized her contribution to women's cricket and conferred her with the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2010, and the Padma Shri two years later.
That in another few games an Indian pacer will occupy the hot seat in the list of all-time greats speaks volumes about the hard yards she's put in, in a land that showers all the adulation on their batsmen. An unwavering line and length, apart from her pace, remains the most potent weapon in her repertoire.
"In a country where nobody wants to bend their back, Jhulan has inspired the next generation and carved paths for the future of women's cricket in India." Former Indian captain Purnima Rau couldn't have been more honest in her assessment of who she calls her 'No. 1 trainee'.
Chapter 3: Early days
Goswami spent most of her childhood at an aunt's place in Chakdaha, a tiny village in Nadia district of West Bengal, with her cousins and their friends for company. The neighbourhood would gather in their home at night, she remembers vividly, to catch live action of the 1990 Football World Cup. As a young impressionable kid, Goswami too was wowed Maradona - the local favourite - and hence, Argentina. The Andreas Brehme late penalty in the final still irks her.
When the same gang sat down for cricket telecasts, she would enjoy it 'like any other movie'. Six-year-old Goswami started off as a spectator and soon became the designated ball-girl, retrieving balls sent beyond boundary lines.
The '92 World Cup got her hooked to the game. The introduction of coloured kits, white ball, cricket under floodlights was too tempting a bait to resist. Goswami, then 10, had progressed to being a substitute bowler. In the afternoons though, when the friends wouldn't be around, she would give her brothers company for corridor cricket.
"We shattered quite a few window panes of our house, as well as that of the neighbours. There have been times when my mom or aunt would have to cook a fresh meal for the people whose food we spoilt with our 'sixes'," she recalls with a wide grin.
Watching the Australia vs New Zealand '97 Women's World Cup finale from close quarters - her school had received complimentary tickets - was a life-altering experience. Surprised to learn that playing cricket was a career option she could consider and thrilled by Belinda Clark's victory lap, Goswami had made up her mind.
The inquisitive teenager soon landed in erstwhile Calcutta's Vivekananda Park where she spent her formative years absorbing the basics of the game. The train ride, however, would take a toll on her. Just 15 and armed with a heavy kit bag, Goswami would spend two and half hours each way in a crowded local, from Chakdaha to Calcutta and back, thrice a week. It wasn't the travel time or the peak-hour rush that bothered her, but the judgemental looks from fellow commuters.
"Kitne logon ne kitna daanta hai mujhe. 'Ladkiyan bhi cricket khelti hain?'they used to ask. 'Beta, padhayi-likhayi bhi karte ho kya?'"(I've been scolded by a lot of people, asked if girls also play cricket. Do you even study?)
Stubborn Goswami chose to ignore them all with as much determination with which she clung on to her passion and went on to earn a spot amongst the most respectable names in women's cricket. Her story, however, could have had a very different plot line had her coach not made a crucial intervention.
The nets at Vivekananda Park were run by Swapan Sadhu and fortunately for Goswami, a friend from her locality was a regular there. Impressed with the teenager's action, who has had no formal training previously, Sadhu asked Goswami to register herself. A reluctant Goswami opened up.
"Aaj jhagda karke aa gayi hoon, next time kab aaungi yeh toh maloom nahin (I'vefought with my parents to come here today, I don't know when I will be able to come again)."
Sadhu promised Goswami that he would personally come down and convince her parents. She packed up for the day, took the local back home and resumed school the next morning.
"It was a bit difficult to convince the family, because they didn't know much history about women's cricket. They didn't allow me to play."
Belonging to a simple middle-class background, her parents made it very clear what the priorities were - to study and get a secured job.
If not that, then get married, she was told.
To Goswami's surprise, Sadhu wasted no time in making his trip to Chakdaha.
He doesn't like talking much, Goswami had repeatedly cautioned me, much less to the people with a dictaphone in hand. But his tone softened in an instant when I ask him to take me through her journey.
"When I went to meet her parents, God knows what changed overnight, they welcomed me warmly. I explained them why I want her to continue coaching and they readily agreed. They even joked, 'ghar mein ye jitna kam rahega, utna ashanti kam hoga' (We'll get some peace of mind if she spends more time outside). They left her responsibility entirely on me," Sadhu beams with pride as he recounts.
"Till date, I don't know what he said to convince my parents and honestly, I never tried finding out too. For me, they had agreed and there was no looking back from there on. My journey started from there."
***
Chapter 4: The two pillars
Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami have been the torchbearers of women's cricket in the country. As the last standing link between two very different eras of women's cricket, they carry a rich legacy forward. They are now the senior-most pillars of the team - the nucleus that binds the side together.
They started their Test careers together. Of course, by then Raj was an accomplished player of the abridged version of the game and Goswami, well, star-struck by the prospect of playing alongside the girl-wonder.
Her maiden wicket, and as a matter of fact her 100th too, was extra special for Goswami because Raj took the catch. That sowed the seeds of a long, fruitful partnership that, in more ways than one, carved a path for the future generations.
Just three games into their careers, the two teenagers had accomplished what was beyond the realms of imagination. Batting nearly 600 minutes across three days of Test cricket, Raj etched her name in history books by registering the highest individual score by a woman. For the better part of her marathon knock of 214, against England at Taunton in August of 2002, she had her 'partner-in-crime' Goswami for company at the other end. In fact, Raj had combined with the No. 8 batsman for a mammoth 157-run stand - a record that they learnt of only after the former's dismissal.
Goswami had chipped in with a 62, lasting nearly three sessions of play, while Raj's epic stay at the crease was close to ten hours. It had never been a common sight in women's cricket, blame the lack of regular Tests. Quite naturally, both 19-year-olds were exhausted towards the end of Day 3.
"I remember the match was around Independence Day. Whenever I used to tell 'I'm too tired to carry on, she'd glance at the India flag that was hoisted at the stadium and say, 'no, we've got to play on for the country'," Raj chuckles.
"She had that innocence in her since the beginning, that, you know, to play for the country. She has always been that player who would stand up and play for the team.
"As young kids, we took a lot of pride in it. We were lucky in the sense that there were no secondary (benefits) at the back of our minds - representing the country meant we have to be at our best. And as 19-year-olds it mattered to us a lot more. So each time I would complain that I'm tired, she'd make me look at the flag and try to pep me up."
Goswami's version is endearingly similar. Except that she says it was Raj's energy that gave her the strength to endure the challenge she wasn't used to. "As a senior batter she didn't let me take any pressure, she just said 'stay there for as long as you can'.
"We were very tired, at least I was. We'd been batting since Lunch. I told her I haven't batted so much in my entire career put together!
"But she pushed me, she kept reminding that we can't lose a wicket now, not towards the end of the day."
The mutual admiration between the two is awe-inspiring. They are a perfect foil for each other - Raj the gifted introvert and Goswami a naive extrovert.
Even the events that led up to the reshuffle of captaincy, from Raj to Goswami and then back, has failed to have any bearing on their bonding. There was a time however, Raj recalls, when Goswami nearly gave up on her.
December 2005. India were hosting England for a limited-overs series, the fourth game of which was played out at Silchar in Assam. Raj won the toss, invited Charlotte Edwards & Co. to bat first and Goswami's five-for ensured that the visitors were bundled for a measly 50. The chase was a mere formality, completed well before lunch and the hosts were back in their hotel rooms sooner than expected.
Out of boredom, Raj decided to pull a fast one on Goswami. She rang her up, pretending to be a BCC journalist from London who wanted to interview the Player of the Day. Naive and gullible, Goswami took the bait.
"She was very innocent back then," Raj breaks into laughter even before she could complete her sentence. "I spoke to her for literally half an hour to 45 minutes and she actually bought it! She answered everything with all honestly."
When her roommates started giggling, Raj hung up. Minutes later, she mustered the courage to call her back and instantly cooked up a story. "I called her back and said that it was a trunk call, an ISD call and the line was bad, so it got disconnected. Come to think of it, she believed even that!
"Beyond a point, I literally ran out of questions."
Media attention, in those days, was a rare commodity for women cricketers, and it meant a huge deal for Goswami when BBC came calling. She rang up her coach who polished her into what she is today, and her family, instantly after the 'interview'. Next, she ran to the corridor, gathered everybody and with all genuineness, asked her teammates to tune in to BBC Radio to listen to her interview, at which point Amita Sharma, Raj's partner-in-crime, burst out laughing.
"Jhulan instantly realised it was all a prank. She was so furious with me that she didn't speak to me for 2-3 days!
"I apologised endlessly. She kept saying,'ye nahin ho sakta Mithu, tere se ye ummed nahin thi', (I didn't expect this from you, Mithali)." Yet again, it takes Raj several attempts to finish her narration.
"We had so much of fun at her cost. Now she's a pro, she doesn't behave like that any more.
"But I still can't believe that she actually believed everything I told her over the phone, my accent, my credentials, everything. I still remember how sincerely she answered each of those questions."
***
Chapter 5: Getting started
"When I look back now, I was very fortunate that my friend had brought me to the right place," Goswami recollects, stealing a glance at the miniature Lord Ganesha idol kept on her bedside table.
Goswami's coach, Sadhu, is a stickler for rules. A minute's delay beyond the reporting time of 7:30 AM and Goswami knew she would have to take the next train back home.He have any soft corner for the student he knew had travelled several miles, compromising on both studies and sleep.
"He was the toughest coach I ever got. I got a very disciplined life because of him, I have to be thankful... whatever I have learnt from him in my teenage days, has helped me a lot throughout. As a sportsperson, I feel, you need to have a strong base."
While Goswami was impressing everybody in the West Bengal cricketing circles with her ferocious pace and dedication, it was her Under-19 debut that forced the bigwigs to take notice.
Maharashtra were up against 'minnows' West Bengal. So relaxed was the atmosphere in the Maharashtra camp that nobody took the team meeting seriously after they'd travelled for nearly three days in an unreserved train compartment for the low-key encounter. While the lanky pacer's name did come up in a side discussion, the coach was keen to run up an imposing total on the batting track that was on offer, and then rattle the opposition for '50-odd'.
Electing to bat, Bengal piled up in excess of 150 that infuriated the Maharashtra coach. The contribution from Goswami's bat was 30-odd.
Yet, the mid-innings team meeting focussed on how Maharashtra, with the kind of top-order they possessed at the time, could still post a big win. Devieka Palshikaar, slated to come out at No. 7, recalls how the chances of getting to bat in her debut game looked bleak. "That was my first ever game for Maharashtra, you know, with full gear on and I was all so charged up. But it didn't look like I'll get to bat. He (coach) had confidence in our batting because our top-order was quite good," she narrates the episode from 1999.
Palshikhaar did get to bat, and score a fifty on debut, this after Bengal had heavyweights Maharashtra reeling at 17 for 5 in under 10 overs! Opening the attack ahead of experienced pacers, Goswami accounted for three top-order batters, while Rumeli Dhar, her fellow debutant, got rid of the other two.
Palshikaar, who would go on to become Goswami's Air India and national teammate in the years to come, admits staring blankly at the coach, who was equally shaken-up, if not more.
"She'd bowled beautifully. That was the first ever game of my life and I stood there literally blank. I looked at my coach before walking out and he said, 'beta dekhlo jo bhi kar sakte ho, jitne overs nikal sakte ho'(try to play as many overs as you can). I don't think I will ever forget his words, his desperation, or Jhulu's spell. That's how stunned we all were."
To add insult to injury, Goswami defended two off the final over to hand Bengal an unlikely win.
Seventeen years on, Palshikaar graciously accepts defeat and credits Goswami for the upset from where the latter's career took off.
Such was the impact that Goswami was rewarded with her senior Bengal debut the same year and an East zone call-up followed soon after.
"When she came, obviously, her game was not as polished. She was still raw. But she was always looking to educate herself," mentions former India cricketer Lopamudra Banerjee. As her coach when Goswami made her West Bengal senior debut, Banerjee has seen the pacer evolve from a shy, timid girl to one of India's most prolific players. "She learnt by observing other players - their game and routines... Jhulu was always determined to play better than the rest," she points out.
Next up in the calendar was Rani Jhansi Trophy. The star-studded Air India side of the late-90s brushed aside East Zone in no time but Goswami's long run-up, which was unheard of for an East Zone player, and aggressive bowling left a lasting impact on the opposition's captain.
Waiting for her friend in the team bus, Goswami was approached Purnima Rau. Those were the days when both teams traveled together. Star-struck, Goswami couldn't decline Rau's request. The ride back home was, by her own admission, the most bizarre interview Goswami ever had to face.
"I asked her who her favourite singer was," Rau fondly recalls the bus ride. "She said Kishore Kumar and I thought to myself, 'off to a good start'.
"Next, I asked who her favourite cricketer was and she named Kapil Dev. I said, 'works with me'. She was totally in sync. Even at that young age, she knew what she was talking."
Rau instantly went back to her team manager - Fiona Fernandes - and requested her to consider signing the prodigious pacer.
Months later, when Rau offered her the Air India Sports Promotion Board contract at the India probables camp in Chandigarh in 2000, Goswami put them on hold and instantly rang her coach back home.
"I asked her to not even think twice and just accept the opportunity." Elation would have be an understatement. Sadhu had no qualms about Goswami making the move to Air India, leaving behind the state team. After all, it was one of the finest finishing schools.
Goswami's confidence and self-belief grew at Air India, opines Rau, recalling an episode from her days as the captain. Air India were about 30 short of the target when she walked out to bat and joined her captain who had already notched up a fifty by then. "I got the shock of my life when she turned to me and said 'we'll win, Puri di,you just pass the strike to me'. But she did it.
"We won it easily. Being the senior player, having done the bulk of scoring, I played a second fiddle to her - such was her confidence."
As Air India ceased to be a part of the domestic circuit after BCCI took over, arch-rivals Railways couldn't have found a more opportune moment to poach the cream of the team - Mithali Raj, Rumeli Dhar and many others. Goswami too got an offer. However, after careful deliberation, she decided to go back to her roots instead.
Still a sincere employee of Air India, Goswami is content leading the next crop of players in the state. "The beauty of her character is that she always tries to groom the girls," says former India cricketer Mithu Mukherjee, who currently heads the selection panel at Cricket Association of Bengal. "She'll sit down with them and emphasizes on how to train, asks them what they want, discusses the game with them. She will do everything that she can for this Bengal team."
***
Chapter 6: The Golden phase
Her maiden World Cup in 2005 marked the beginning of an upward curve in Goswami's career. With 13 wickets in eight games, including the final they lost, Goswami finished as the third-best bowler of the tournament - only behind India's Neetu David and Amita Sharma.
Carrying forward her stellar form, the 22-year-old inspired her team to a historic Test triumph in England the following year. Promoted as Raj's deputy, Goswami, eager to prove her Test credentials, knew this was her chance to step out of the shadows of the seniors. And she couldn't have asked for a better setting than the bowler-friendly conditions on offer in England.
After Anjum Chopra's 98 set the platform for India's total of 307, Goswami ripped apart the hosts' top order, reducing them to 22 for 3 with their skipper Charlotte Edwards unwell. When she did come out to bat though, Goswami cut her stay short to stun the hosts by shooting them out for a measly 99.
Following on, Edwards led England's revival with an unbeaten century at stumps on Day 3 but their slim chances of salvaging a draw faded the fourth morning. England had barely added seven runs to their overnight score when calamity struck. Goswami sent back the captain, her partner in the 178-run stand Caroline Atkins and Jenny Gunn for the addition of another 19 runs to England's second-innings total. Her five-for in back-to-back innings set India on course for an upset series win - their first on English soil.
"Test cricket is a such format that you need to pick all those 20 wickets if you want to win. I knew I deserved to take wickets because my rhythm was very good and I was enjoying my bowling. I was able to swing the ball both ways, and I enjoyed the challenge. The way I wanted to bowl, the way I wanted to swing it, I could execute very well.
"And I had good support from the other end too - Amita (Sharma), Rumeli (Dhar) bowled well too. If you don't bowl well in partnerships, it becomes very difficult to pick wickets. They contained the batters form one end and I could pick wickets from the other. It was a team effort."
That after a defiant 228-ball 69 as a nightwatchman in Leicester's series opener - the joint-highest for an Indian in their first innings. That was total fluke, she says in the hindsight. "I knew I could make runs if I applied myself and stayed there in the middle. I was made the vice-captain and I am proud that I could perform my responsibilities (on that tour)."
Growing up, Goswami dreamt of making it to the same elite league as her bowling idol Fitzpatrick. She would look to learn from the Australian's game preparation, emulate her and Glenn McGrath in the nets and aspired to bowl as fast.
By the time she earned the fastest bowler's tag she had craved for, after Fitzpatrick hung up her boots in March of 2007, Goswami had the maturity to understand that the milestone was just the beginning of a lifetime of lessons.
"People praise you only till the time you are performing on the field; the day you stop, they won't even look back at your career. You have to be practical as a player and keep performing. Its nice all this adulation, but you have to learn to keep up the good work too."
And then came the ICC recognition in 2007. In the year when none of her male counterparts could even make it to nominations, Goswami became the first Indian female cricketer to bag the coveted ICC Women's Player of the Year trophy. That she beat Lisa Sthalekar and Claire Taylor to it was the icing on the cake.
"The nomination in itself was a big achievement for me. I was happy that I got nominated along with some of the superstars of the game but never did I imagine I could win it too," Goswami says. The name, fame and recognition it brought, also increased the responsibility tremendously. "It taught me the real deal that pressure is.
"I knew there were more eyes on me than ever and that people are constantly scrutinizing my performances more closely now." The next challenge was to keep up that level, where she did not disappoint.
Captaincy was not too far now.
***
Chapter 7: The WCAI days
Women's Cricket Association of India, or WCAI, neither had the money to run the game, not the kind of infrastructure that the BCCI has provided since the takeover. But talk to any cricketer who plied their trade in the cash-deprived era and you are bound to stumble upon endearing anecdotes of those who defied all odds and had the courage to take women's cricket forward in the country.
Travelling unreserved, at times even for days at a stretch; not getting paid for what was their profession, being put up in school classrooms, limited access to the infrastructure - the women were used to step-motherly treatment. And yet, the era produced some of the finest players who rewrote the history of the game. Goswami, along with Mithali Raj, are the last-two active members of the family that ceased to exist in 2006.
"We were happy with whatever we had. We didn't have any idea back then that BCCI and WCAI would merge one day, or that we'd have all these facilities some day, we just wanted to play the game because we loved it," Goswami puts forward her pragmatic view.
"I think our seniors set a very good example for us. Diana Edulji, Shantha Rangaswamy, Mithu Mukherjee, Lopamudra Bhattacharya, Purnima Rau, Anjum Chopra, Anju Jain, Neetu David, Mithali Raj later on - that era too had produced such world-class cricketers.
"We, frankly, never felt that we're lacking anything. Purnima Rau, Anjum and Anju were the stalwarts when I was growing up. Sharing the dressing room with them I realised that they too had gone through the same. So, at least I felt that if they can (become heroes), why can't I do the same."
Still a teenager when she chose to became a part of the 'system' that never treated its women fairly, Goswami had never harboured expectations of a lifestyle that she knew cricket can't afford to give her.
Air India, one of the few associations who could offer a job and a stipend to women cricketers, however, couldn't afford plush hotels. The team of 16 was allotted a 3 bedroom setup in Bandra, Mumbai.
"We had to manage everything by ourselves. So, I as the team captain, would form a 'transport committee' who would go out and fetch autos for us to get to the ground. Then there was house-keeping committee, municipality committee who was incharge of cleanliness, food incharge, a training incharge, entertainment incharge. And Jhulu would always be one of my cabinet ministers!' Rau laughs.
The team - all 16 of them - slept together on the floor, discussing the game endlessly into the night. "I've learnt a lot in that Air India flat. We used to spend most of our time in Puri di's room, asking how to react in tense situations, how to handle pressure, how to hold our nerve in crucial moment, how to implement the plans at the right time. Those endless discussions have helped me understand the game better, I feel," Goswami remembers fondly.
"When these girls didn't do well on the field, they were nowhere to be seen," Rau adds. "Those were the most peaceful days of my life!"
End of the day, cricket remained her priority and Goswami didn't want a compromise there.
Of course, a lot has changed since then. BCCI has offered contracts, upto Rs. 15 lakhs annually, giving the girls job security, apart from other humane provisions that they always deserved. Over the last decade, the recognition and influx of money in women's cricket has played a significant hand in minimising stereotypes and unearthing talent from nook and corners of the country.
"We're happy that the current generation doesn't have to struggle the way we or the ones before us did. Its commendable the way BCCI is taking care of women's cricket now. That's what we've always wanted. And now, it is up to us to raise the bar further."
***
Chapter 8: Captaincy
Many termed the sacking of Raj as a knee-jerk reaction from the newly-appointed selection committee. England had swept the five-match ODI series 4-0, the last one abandoned due heavy rain. But what came as a surprise to many was just another recognition Goswami deserved for the hard yards she had put in.
Nearly a decade into the business, Goswami hadn't led a team before. And yet, captaincy was a challenge she accepted, like any other, with open arms.
Her term at the helm also coincided with the retirement of seniors, while the young batch of Harmanpreet Kaur, Gouher Sultana, Poonam Raut and others was making their way in. The challenge for the rookie captain was to ensure a balanced team composition with a healthy mix of seniors and juniors.
"The best thing about Jhulan was that she would make all the efforts to keep the team together. She was very aggressive so naturally people followed suit. It was a contrast, honestly. Mithali is the cool one. (They had) their own different styles, but it worked well for the team at the time," says Rau, who was a part of the panel that made Goswami in charge.
When Goswami's on-field performances dropped, the selectors sprang another surprise by throwing the captaincy hat to Anjum Chopra, who was recalled after spending two years in the wilderness. Less than six months into it, Raj's consistency forced the panel to reinstate her.
"The change of captaincy is not something I can comment on, but no, that did not affect our friendship or our equation as a team. Not at all. I have a lot of respect for Mithali because they way she has set up an example of all of us."
Representing the country has been foremost for Goswami and she was lucky to have retained her spot despite all the turmoil. Relieved of captaincy after over three years in the hot seat, she went back to basics when thrown the lifeline to revive her career. Her aim was to be back among wickets, to contribute to team's wins. All else is a part and parcel of the game, she insists.
"When you walk down a path, and for so long, you will scale many milestones. But you will have to move past them to make further progress. I've been very clear about that."
Raj is more critical in her assessment of what she thinks was a learning curve for both of them. "I honestly felt that when she was leading, and remember she was still the opening bowler for the team, she was too overloaded with responsibility.
"Not saying that she was a bad captain. But what happens is that as a bowler, you set your own field, and that one over you are always thinking of just your bowling. As a strike bowler, she would want to give her team the right start. And the day she wouldn't - and its natural, it would reflect. (She knew) if she wouldn't get her team the wickets in the first few overs, there would be much more burden on her spinners, and as a captain you'd always want to deliver."
Captaincy or not, and irrespective of how her day went, Goswami has always been a live wire on the field. Playing in front of near-empty stands,the players tend to zone out, more so as the day progresses. But there would always be one voice, from a far-off corner of the ground, trying to lift their spirits. "There have been a lot of times when I was the captain, but suddenly in a very quiet stadium, you'll hear this one player encouraging the team on. Every time I had looked around, there she would be standing at third man or deep square leg, so full of energy," Raj shares.
***
Chapter 9: The heartbreaks
There is a sense of discomfort in her tone as she lists down two defeats - in 2009 Cricket World Cup and the succeeding 2010 ICC World Twenty20 - amongst the most heartbreaking on-field moments.
"I can't digest defeat, I am a very bad loser. There have been times when I got sleepless nights because of it," she looks away at the muted television in front of her.
At the 50-over event in Australia, under Goswami's captaincy, India had done exceedingly well to make it to the Super Six stage. But their campaign came crashing down after one mediocre outing against New Zealand. In the briefest version, the next year in West Indies, nerves got the better them in the semifinal clash against the eventual winners Australia.
"I believe, we were in very good position to win. We had momentum on our side. But unfortunately we lost (both). I guess we couldn't handle the pressure well," Goswami gives an honest evaluation. "It took me few days to digest what had happened. I kept thinking what went wrong, what we could have done differently and that I should have performed better."
Run out on both occasions, as a captain, she feels, her failure to build on the platform provided kept the team to modest totals, making it difficult for her bowlers to contain the opposition. She managed only one wicket, both games put together.
The run-out jinx came back to haunt her, six years later, at what was being considered as India's most realistic chance of earning the coveted ICC title that has always eluded them.
As bizarre a coincidence as it may sound, India's modest chase of 115 collapsed dramatically after a Hayley Matthews's throw found Goswami short of her crease, trying to fetch a crucial couple in a tense finish against West Indies to seal a semifinal spot in the 2016 World T20.
A virtual knockout, India's final league game with the eventual winners was seen as a perfect prelude to the blockbuster Indo-Pak clash that was to follow in the men's event. The stadium in Mohali, even though not filled to capacity, provided just the ambiance the women's team always yearned for. Letting the country and her team down didn't go down very well with Goswami.
"I was in a position where I could have won the game for my team and at that stage if you get run out, I believe that's the worst (way to get out) when you're in flow."
A mix-up with Shikha Pandey in the 19th over, just as more fans were trickling in, evoked strong reactions from members of the men's team too. Goswami had dispatched the West Indies captain into the long-on stands just off the previous delivery. The equation was down to 12 off last nine, and manageable.
Even as she put on a brave face after India's lacklustre exit and went around for the customary handshakes, it remains one of those rare failures that will rile up an otherwise composed Goswami, shares Rau, who is now the head coach of the team.
"I'm still stuck in that moment, I'm sure she is too.'
***
Chapter 10: Life outside cricket
That is, probably, what makes Rau say, in a very matter-of-factly tone, that, "if you take cricket out of Jhulu's life, I don't think there is that relentless passion for anything else." Palshikaar nods in agreement. Goswami doesn't want to contest her claim either.
Raj peels back the layers to show us more of Goswami's cricket-obsessed character.
In England during the 2012 tour, Raj and Niranjana Nagarajan, along with Goswami, were waiting for someone at their hotel lobby to join them for dinner when a 'familiar face' walked past them. Goswami and Nagarajan instantly pulled out their phones and asked Raj to click a photo of them together.
"Since these people were taking a picture, I thought maybe I should also get one clicked. I had no idea who he was, he looked very familiar but I just could not recollect the name. But I took a picture (with him) anyway."
While the other three spoke for the next few minutes, Raj stood their awkwardly and zoned out a little later, still struggling to put a name to the face. "After he left, I asked Jhulu who was this guy you were so keen to click a picture with and, would you believe it, it was Michael Holding! I was stunned."
Perplexed, Goswami went on for a while detailing on Holding's every notable bowling figures and statistics. "I told her that if I ever get a chance to be on Kaun Banega Crorepati and get a question on any of men's cricket, I know who to call. She literally knows all about men's cricket too!"
Once off the field, Goswami likes to switch off with old classics of Kishore Kumar. "Her singing is as bad as her dance," says Palshikaar, who has been Goswami's roommate, and often been subjected to her 'schezuan chicken with roti' cravings. "But she makes a sincere effort. Jhulu is willing to learn everything that she can."
Rau chips in with more insights, "Right from the start of the session till the end, she will be there dancing with everyone. But there is no rhythm at all! Her expressions would be so intense but she's totally out of sync. On the field, thankfully, she's got that beautiful rhythm, every stride is measured. But her dance steps..."
***
Chapter 11: The missing piece
There aren't many as accurate or astute in the current Indian setup to challenge her role as the pace spearhead of the team, and despite years of service, she's well aware that she can't take her spot in the team for granted. Whether with the state team or the Indian, she wouldn't shun hard work, you'd be told repeatedly. Sweets are a rare luxury, even during off season. Goswami keeps the trainer and the physio by her side, and the time in the gym has only increased with age.
"If you have that passion to play for your country, then you will spend enough time on your training. I know my body, I know my strengths and weaknesses. If my processes are in place, I know I will be able to give my hundred per cent."
"It still rankles her when she fails to get a wicket," notes Banerjee, or Lopa di, as Goswami fondly calls her. "She'd be back to normal in the very next game as soon as she bags a wicket, but she'd be extremely restless for the time in between. You can try explaining her endlessly that all days are not the same, and that sometimes you will not get a wicket, but she'd still be very angry with herself. Only a wicket in the next game would give her the mental satisfaction." That passion to learn and excel, even after a staggering tally of 175 ODI wickets, has only grown with every passing game, feels the current East Zone representative on the national selection panel.
While one thing she wants Goswami to accomplish is leading West Bengal to the domestic title, Banerjee also understands what winning a World Cup for her country means to her.
An ICC title is probably the only thing missing in her elaborate trophy cabinet. 'World Cup winner' is the only prefix to her name she yearns for. The childlike innocence with which she says it, almost on cue, you know that she's rehearsed it far too many times now.
And she will reiterate a few more times in the lead up to the 2017 megaevent that'll take her back to the country which has been a happy hunting ground for her. Against the backdrop of mounting expectations, Goswami will be leading India's charge in conditions that won't seem alien anymore. The pressure to win one, after eight unsuccessful attempts, would still be as intense.
World Cup or not, back in Kolkata, which is now Goswami's home for the better part of the year, Sadhu has already decided on a new name for the academy in the honour of inarguably its finest scholar.
Now 69 and fragile, Sadhu prefers to sit with the parents in a corner under the shadow of the trees beside the nets, but has his eyes on everything that's going on at practice. The fading eyesight has failed to curb his passion for the game, for nurturing talent.
"But the day she retires from international cricket, I'm going to hand it all over to Jhul and retire too."
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