West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee promises cricket stadium named after Richa Ghosh in Darjeeling after Women's World Cup heroics

22-year-old Richa Ghosh must be on cloud nine after the love and warmth she has been receiving from her fans and well-wishers since India won the 2025 Women's World Cup on November 2. Richa wasn't just a footnote in the fairytale triumph, but she was one of the primary architects, contributing with her exemplary batting and neat wicketkeeping skills.

At Eden Gardens last week, the West Bengal government collaborated with the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and organised an event to felicitate Richa for her significant contribution in helping India win the Women's World Cup for the first time. During the event, the wicketkeeper-batter from Siliguri was handed Bengal's highest civilian award - Bangla Bhushan, along with a cash reward of a whopping INR 34 lakhs, celebrating her 34-run knock in the final against South Africa at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.

Richa was also appointed as a Deputy Superintendent of Police by the West Bengal government. She was also presented with a gold-plated bat and ball signed by CAB president Sourav Ganguly and Indian legend Jhulan Goswami, who were also present at the event.

While congratulating Richa and the entire Indian team, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee revealed her plans to ensure the achievement is remembered for generations. Banerjee assured that a stadium in Darjeeling will be built soon upon a land of 27 acres, and it will be named "Richa Ghosh Stadium".

“Richa became a world champion at just 22. On behalf of the West Bengal government, we honoured her, but I want to do more. There’s about 27 acres of land in Darjeeling, and I’ve asked the mayor to plan a cricket stadium there. It should be named the Richa Cricket Stadium so that people remember her performance in the future and are inspired by it,” Mamata Banerjee said.

Richa, who scored 235 runs from eight matches with a highest of 94, will become the first female Indian cricketer to have a stadium named after her. In the past, stalwarts like Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami have been honoured with stands being named after them at Visakhapatnam’s ACA-VDCA Stadium and Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, respectively.