'I’m fortunate enough to have served my country for 20 years: Jhulan Goswami

Veteran India women's team pacer Jhulan Goswami attended her final press conference as an active player ahead of the ODI against England at the 'Mecca of Cricket' Lord's that is scheduled to be played on Saturday, September 24. At the same time, Jhulan will be bidding adieu to international cricket after this contest. 

As the versatile speedster looks forward to bringing curtains down on her decorated career, she ended up talking about her most cherished moments on the field that included wearing the India jersey with pride along with the honour of singing the national anthem.

That is the ultimate feeling and something that I enjoy: Jhulan Goswami

"I think best moment is when you come out on the dressing room and sing the national anthem. When you wear the India jersey. That is the ultimate feeling and something that I enjoy. I dream about those things. That is the biggest achievement for me and that is something I’m going to miss going forward. But this is how life is, you have to end it somewhere.

"But I’m fortunate enough to have served my country for 20 years and to have done it with a lot of honesty and dedication. As a team we’ve gone through a lot of things. Again I’ll say singing the national anthem and wearing the India jersey is the most precious moment", said Goswami during a press conference ahead of the third ODI against England.

The fast bowler is all set to end her illustrious career as the highest wicket-taker in the history of women's cricket. Meanwhile, Goswami was an integral part of the Indian team that made the finals of the 2005 and 2017 editions of the Women's World Cup under the leadership of the legendary batter Mithali Raj. Both Jhulan and Mithali together have represented the Indian eves in a record six Women's World Cups.

Once Jhulan Goswami signs off, the emerging pacers including the likes of Renuka Singh Thakur have huge shoes to fill in going forward. Jhulan was injured during India's must-win Women's World Cup 2022 encounter against South Africa. The Women in Blue almost confirmed a semis berth before Deepti Sharma's frontfoot no ball turned out to be the game-changer that shattered India's dreams.