Feelings overflowed when former India ladies’s workforce captains gathered on the iconic Taj Mahal Palace forward of the Sportstar Aces Awards. It wasn’t only a assembly of previous teammates; it felt like a long-awaited homecoming.
Years could have handed since their enjoying days, however the bond remained untouched by time. Again then, they had been pushed by the sheer love for the sport and the pleasure of sporting the India colors. And as they met once more, the years appeared to soften away — as if the dressing-room chatter had solely paused for a second.
Chanderkanta Kaul had travelled all the way in which from London, navigating flight disruptions linked to tensions across the Iran-Israel battle. Pramila Bhat, too, had braved journey uncertainties within the Center East, taking a protracted detour earlier than lastly making it to Mumbai from Riyadh.
However distance and inconvenience meant little when friendship referred to as.
“When all my mates and seniors are right here, how can I miss it?” Pramila mentioned, her face lighting up with a smile that mentioned all of it.
Chanderkanta shared the identical emotion. “I’m coming after years. Initially I assumed I wouldn’t be capable of make it, however when the almighty needs, issues fall into place,” she mentioned softly.
And as soon as they met, the heat returned immediately.
The resort rooms quickly changed into energetic dressing rooms once more, stuffed with laughter, tales and affectionate teasing. Purnima Rau, Puri di to everybody, slipped effortlessly into her acquainted position, making rounds with cups of tea and guaranteeing everybody felt at dwelling. She had even carried packets of freshly made pickles for her mates, a small gesture that introduced huge smiles.
By afternoon, Aparna Kambli and Soniya Dabir joined the gathering. Aparna had solely a brief journey throughout the town, however Soniya had pushed down all the way in which from Pune, unwilling to overlook the prospect to relive these valuable moments.
“Puri di, you keep in mind how all of us would watch Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi collectively?” Soniya requested, her voice carrying the nostalgia of one other time.
“Even Jhulan (Goswami) would watch it usually,” she added with amusing.
Heads nodded, laughter crammed the room, and tales flowed freely — the sort that solely teammates who’ve shared lengthy journeys collectively can inform.
And simply when the room settled into that comfy silence of shared recollections, Chanderkanta gently steered the dialog again to their days with Air India — days when cricket, journey and friendship blended right into a life that none of them had imagined would someday really feel so distant, but so shut.
Aparna, a former Mumbai captain and an Air India veteran, was fast to reply. “Again in these days, Air India presumably had one of the best workforce. You title a participant and she or he was a part of the squad,” she mentioned with pleasure.
Chanderkanta smiled as she remembered the hesitation that when stood between her and Mumbai. “Coming from a small city, my mother and father questioned how I’d handle in an enormous metro like Mumbai. So that they didn’t enable me to maneuver,” she mentioned, earlier than pausing for a second. “Now it feels so good to see younger gamers chasing their desires freely, and their mother and father supporting them.”
For greater than three many years now, Chanderkanta has been dwelling in Hounslow in the UK. Although she stays concerned in teaching on the native degree, the previous India captain, beneath whom Mithali Raj made her worldwide debut, admits there’s one lingering remorse.
“After marriage, I shifted to the UK. Regardless that I’m nonetheless linked with the sport by teaching, it will have been good to increase my cricketing profession,” she mentioned.
Purnima nodded in settlement. “ Kya participant thi Chander (What a participant Chander was)! She was one of many grittiest of our instances,” she mentioned warmly.
Chanderkanta Kaul (R) and Veenu Gopal, the opening pair of North Zone, exit to bat throughout a cricket match in March 1997.
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THE HINDU ARCHIVES
Chanderkanta Kaul (R) and Veenu Gopal, the opening pair of North Zone, exit to bat throughout a cricket match in March 1997.
| Picture Credit score:
THE HINDU ARCHIVES
After stepping away from teaching worldwide groups in 2017, Purnima selected a really completely different life. Right now, her sprawling farm on the outskirts of Secunderabad retains her busy, providing a relaxed distinction to the depth of cricket.
And when she just isn’t tending to her farm, she has different companions to maintain her entertained — three cats she fondly calls her “ Sholay trio”.
“I name them Sholay,” she mentioned with a smile, referring to the enduring movie Sholay. “One among them is Jay, the opposite Viru, and the third one is Basanti. So the Sholay trio retains me busy and entertained.”
Just lately, she has additionally began a homestay close to Kalimpong, which suggests a lot of her time is now spent travelling between Bagdogra and Secunderabad. “I like dwelling near nature,” she mentioned softly. “That retains me alive and retains me going.”
After they began enjoying the sport, the Girls’s Cricket Affiliation of India (WCAI) was the governing physique. Sources had been restricted, alternatives had been scarce, however ardour stored the group going. And as Nilima Jogalekar, one of many pioneers of the sport, fondly recalled, even the smallest recognition meant the world.
“I acquired my first prize for cricket in that sport,” she mentioned with a smile. “A glucose biscuit from the umpire. I obtained it for scoring a boundary — from the one shot I had at the moment: a swing to the leg-side.”
It wasn’t an bizarre match. It was performed at Nehru Stadium through the first nationwide event in 1973.
“That was our prize. And right this moment, due to the Board of Management for Cricket in India, the gamers have gotten all of the help and the outcomes are displaying,” she mentioned, praising India’s World Cup triumph final 12 months.
India ladies’s workforce gamers Smitha Harikrishna and Anju Jain (R) through the Hero Honda Girls’s World Cup ODI match in opposition to West Indies in Faridabad.
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THE HINDU ARCHIVES
India ladies’s workforce gamers Smitha Harikrishna and Anju Jain (R) through the Hero Honda Girls’s World Cup ODI match in opposition to West Indies in Faridabad.
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THE HINDU ARCHIVES
Sudha Shah and Shubhangi Kulkarni, former captains who at the moment are related to the BCCI, consider that with improved amenities and visibility, the fan base has grown immensely.
“After we began enjoying, individuals got here to look at us out of curiosity. Our matches weren’t televised; we had been fortunate if we discovered a couple of corners in a newspaper. That was sufficient for us,” Sudha mentioned. “We’re so joyful to see packed stadiums right this moment. In our instances, perhaps a couple of of us had been family names due to newspaper protection. Right now, all 15 gamers are family names resulting from huge protection. That’s an enormous step ahead.”
In these days, travelling in unreserved practice compartments and staying in dormitories was the norm. Gamers would usually depend on native transport to achieve grounds, carrying little greater than hope and dedication.
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“There was hardly any prize cash, and we didn’t know the place the longer term lay,” considered one of them recalled. “However that by no means stopped us from chasing our desires.”
“I used to maintain footage of Glenn McGrath in my pockets and dream that I may bowl like him,” Jhulan mentioned with a smile.
Anju Jain, now a revered coach, says she usually reminds younger gamers to remain grounded as a result of she is aware of how unpredictable the sport will be.
“Most gamers are centered nowadays, however as coaches our job is to assist them deal with success and failure higher. That’s what I attempt to do,” she mentioned.
And it’s this enduring ardour that also drives that era.
Diana Edulji (centre) mentioned India cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar was an enormous motivator throughout her profession.
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EMMANUAL YOGINI
Diana Edulji (centre) mentioned India cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar was an enormous motivator throughout her profession.
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EMMANUAL YOGINI
Whereas Diana Edulji nonetheless fondly remembers how Sunil Gavaskar motivated her in her early days — inspiring her to look at as a lot cricket as doable even right this moment — Sandhya Agarwal spends her time travelling throughout the corners of Madhya Pradesh seeking new expertise.
“You realize what,” Sandhya mentioned, her eyes lighting up with pleasure, “we have now found fairly a couple of kids who will quickly set the stage on fireplace.”
Later within the night, in a packed corridor, the captains had been felicitated for his or her immense contribution to the sport. Of the 13 gamers who’ve led India to date, 10 had been current — Shantha Rangaswamy couldn’t attend as she was unwell, whereas prior commitments stored Anjum Chopra and Mithali away.
However because the captains walked onto the stage to thunderous applause, their journey, from glucose-biscuit prizes to packed stadiums, instructed a strong story.
A narrative that whispered to each younger dreamer within the room: by no means surrender in your desires.
Printed on Mar 16, 2026