Modi greets women cricket victors

 

 

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met the triumphant Indian women’s cricket team at his residence and lauded the players for their ‘remarkable resilience and comeback’ in the World Cup after enduring a tough phase marked by three consecutive defeats. The Prime Minister also referred to the trolling the players had faced on social media after the early setbacks and praised them for showing exemplary mental strength to bounce back and script history. Recalling their earlier meeting with Modi after the 2017 World Cup, captain Harmanpreet Kaur said the team had then come without a trophy hopefully they will achieve success and get to meet him more often. Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana said the Prime Minister’s words were a huge source of motivation.

 

The Harmanpreet-led side arrived in the national capital on Tuesday evening for the meeting, two days after scripting a defining moment for Indian women’s cricket by winning its maiden global title — the 50-over World Cup — with a 52-run victory over South Africa in the final in Navi Mumbai. During the interaction, Player of the Tournament Deepti Sharma told Modi she had been waiting to meet him since 2017, recalling how he had then urged them to keep working hard to achieve their dream. When the Prime Minister mentioned her ‘Jai Shri Ram’ Instagram bio and the tattoo of Lord Hanuman on her arm, Deepti smiled and said they gave her strength. Harmanpreet asked Modi how he manages to stay in the present at all times. The Prime Minister replied that it had become a part of his life and a habit over time.

 

He also recalled some memorable moments from the team’s journey, including Harleen Deol’s spectacular catch against England in 2021, about which he had posted on social media. The Prime Minister fondly referred to Harmanpreet pocketing the ball after the World Cup final. She said she lucky that the ball came to her. In a lighter vein, Modi also spoke about Amanjot Kaur’s juggling catch in the final. While catching, you must have been seeing the ball, but after catching it, you must have been seeing the trophy, he joked. Kranti Gaud told the Prime Minister that her brother is a big fan of his, to which he extended an open invitation to meet him. Modi urged the players to promote the Fit India message, especially among girls across the country. He expressed concern over the growing problem of obesity and emphasised the importance of fitness and physical activity. He also encouraged them to visit their schools and inspire young minds to take up sports. India’s World Cup triumph marked a watershed moment for women’s cricket in the country, bringing to fruition years of toil and near-misses, as Harmanpreet’s side overcame formidable South Africa to become only the fourth team to lift the ODI title.

 

 

FORMER India pacer Karsan Ghavri on Wednesday hailed Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues and Smriti Mandhana as the “new brand of Indian cricket”, lauding the trio and their team-mates for making “every Indian across the world hold their head high” after clinching the Women’s World Cup. “Hats off to the girls, the way they played cricket throughout the World Cup at various venues, especially the last two games against Australia and South Africa. They are the deserving winners of the World Cup,” Ghavri said. “Like the men’s team has Virat, Rohit, and Gill, Smriti, Jemimah, and Harmanpreet are now the new brand of Indian cricket,” Ghavri said during the inauguration of an inter-state cricket tournament for physically challenged players at the Police Gymkhana here. “It’s such a big achievement. Not only Indians back home, but Indians living all over the world — they have made everyone’s head held high,” the 74-year-old added. The former Test cricketer, who represented India in 39 Tests and 19 ODIs, said the team’s consistency and composure really stood out. Having endured a hat-trick of defeats at the midway stage of the league, the Amol Muzumdar-coached side turned it around in style when they defeated New Zealand in a must-win round-robin fixture to seal their semis berth. Up against the seven-time champions Australia in the semis, India pulled off the highest successful chase in a World Cup when they overcame 338 to oust the heavyweights. Ghavri felt the gap between men’s and women’s cricket has narrowed significantly, crediting the BCCI’s efforts in promoting the women’s game. “Even BCCI feels the way men play, the women too play the same way. Both are on the same level now, there’s no difference. You might have seen both the semis and the final... The stadium was fully packed,” Ghavri said. “BCCI has promoted the men’s and women’s cricket so well. Cricket we cannot look back from, and we won’t move away too,” he added. The former all-rounder also hoped the BCCI would soon organise a special felicitation for the victorious squad. “The BCCI has to organise all these things, and I’m sure they will do it in a special function where everybody, all players and coaching staff, would be invited. I’m very sure it will happen very soon,” he said. Switching to men’s cricket, Ghavri expressed confidence in India’s chances of winning the ongoing T20I series in Australia which is now tied 1-1 with the penultimate rubber slated for Thursday. “It’s going to be a very interesting two matches. The way the Indian team is playing in Australia, we have got a very good chance to win the series,” he said. Among the new generation, Ghavri reserved special praise for Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill who he said should captain in all formats. “Abhishek Sharma is the best in the world. If he plays even for 10 overs in a T20 match, it’s as good as India having won half the match,” he quipped. And on leadership, Ghavri was clear that Gill should be made all format skipper giving him the responsibility in T20I too. “Shubman Gill should captain India in all the formats, be it T20I, ODI or Test,” he added.