"Make sure you do something on the ground that one or two girls start playing cricket after watching you" - Jhulan Goswami on her mom's advice
Jhulan Goswami has disclosed that her mother advised her to be a role model for upcoming cricketers apart from achieving individual milestones.
Jhulan, with 255 wickets in 204 games at an exceptional economy rate of 3.37, is the highest wicket-taker in women's ODIs. The right-arm seamer also accounted for 56 and 44 dismissals respectively in the 68 T20Is and 12 Tests she played.
During an interaction with Anjum Chopra on her YouTube channel, Jhulan Goswami was asked whether she has ever reflected on where she was, where she is currently and where she wants to go, to which she responded:
"These are the things we always discuss many times as a group, that where we need to take women's cricket. After the ICC award in 2007, my mom told me one very valid thing, that you achieve whatever you want as an individual but make sure you do something on the ground that one or two girls start playing cricket after watching you."
The former Indian pacer observed that although she couldn't win the World Cup, she achieved more than she had expected:
"That was a key thing that was in my mind that when I leave cricket, Indian cricket should have its own identity, and people start playing cricket professionally in our country. Unfortunately, the World Cup dream I had when I started playing in 1997, it didn't happen, but otherwise, I got more than I had thought."
Jhulan was the 2007 Women's Cricketer of the Year. Smriti Mandhana is the only other Indian cricketer to get the laurel, doing so in 2018 and 2021.
"I have to request them to get any job done for me" - Jhulan Goswami on how her family reacts to her achievements
Jhulan Goswami was also asked how her family reacts to her becoming ma'am and one of the most recognizable faces in women's cricket, to which she replied:
"It is still the same. There is no difference. They still think like that. I don't get any star treatment. On the flip side, I have to request them to get any job done for me. But they enjoy it because of the level women's cricket has reached from where it started."
The Mumbai Indians women's team's mentor and bowling coach added that her mother gets delighted on seeing youngsters playing cricket in her hometown.
"Earlier there were no facilities in Chakda. Now there are facilities and people want to play the sport. These are the things my mom really enjoys because they keep telling her where they are practicing and she watches them going in their cycles."
Jhulan also disclosed that she turned to a gluten-free and lactose-free diet after the 2017 World Cup. While observing that it was quite challenging to adapt to those changes, coming from a Bengali family, she acknowledged that it helped her immensely.