The leading wicket taker in Women’s ODI’s Jhulan Goswami revealed that she is not considering retirement at this point in time and will start training in a few days time in a bid to win the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in West Indies next year. Jhulan is already 34 years old and might not have much cricket left in her before he finally bids adieu.
She conceded that she hasn’t taken any holidays for the last two years so she will be on a holiday for one week before resuming practice in an attempt to win the T20 World Cup next November.
“I have not taken off for a single day in last two years! So now I will take holidays for around a week and then resume training. We must have to look forward towards winning T20 World Cup in next November,” Jhulan said.
When asked that how she manages to motivate herself to keep on playing at the highest level despite 34, Jhulan said that she made a special diet three years ago which has helped her till date and she is hopeful that it will continue to help for around a couple of years more.
“I have made a special diet around three years ago and it was made basically with fruit juice, fruits, vegetables and a specific quantity of meat and fish. This special diet has guided me till date. I feel I am not bowling badly either. I believe this special diet will help me keep match-fit for a couple of more years.”
She conceded the fact that she might to be following the diet for the next 7 days and will be eating her favourite Bengali dishes at home cooked by her mother. She also revealed that she hasn’t gone back to her home in Chakdaha for over a year.
“It is sure that now, for the next few days during my rest period, I must not take that diet. Rather I will take my favourite delicious Bengali preparation, to be cooked by the mother at home. I have not gone back home at Chakdaha for last one-and-a-half year,” Jhulan said.
She said that unlike 2005 when they had also qualified for the final, this time around the women got much more support from the whole nation which made her feel that the women’s cricket has truly globalised.
“In 2005 also we returned being runners up in the World Cup. But back then, I did not see such exhilarating fanfare. The publicity on social media as well as in the media was not much in 2005. This time, I felt women’s cricket has been globalized truly,” Goswami signed off.