Former India women’s cricket team captain Diana Edulji was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame on Monday. With this, she became the first Indian woman cricketer to receive this honour. Edulji has been a trailblazer in women’s cricket and played a big role during her playing days as well as an administrator after retiring. In her 17-year long career, Edulji has played 20 Test matches and scored 1624 runs with 63 wickets. In ODIs, she has scored 775 runs and scalped 46 wickets in 34 matches.
To acknowledge her achievement, former pacer Jhulan Goswani paid rich tributes to Edulji. In an open letter following her inclusion into ICC Hall of Fame, Jhulan hailed the former India captain’s contribution in lifting the stature of women’s cricket in the country.
“It is an absolute honour for you, but also a very proud moment for women’s cricket in our country and a proud moment for India as a whole, that you are being inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame. It is so well-deserved, you have been a pioneer for women’s cricket in our country,” Goswami wrote.
“Your contributions over the years have been immense. It is not too much to say that the game would not be where it is in India without all your efforts.” The lanky former India pacer also regretted not playing along side Edulji during her illustrious career.
“From a personal perspective, one of the biggest regrets of my career was that I never got to play against you. Like many young cricketers in India, I had grown up reading about you in the record books. Women’s cricket in India started in Mumbai in 1971 and you were there from the start,” Jhulan wrote.
“We would read about your exploits, how you led the team and were so important to that side. As a player, your performances for the Indian cricket team in the 1970s and 1980s were legendary.
“You are a born leader who has always taken the responsibility on your shoulders and led from the front. Winning and losing is a part of life, but you take the initiative and always try to contribute to society, that is the biggest achievement of all.
“Later, when you were present on the BCCI board, you made further huge contributions. You had played at the highest level and stayed involved in women’s cricket so you understood exactly what we needed. We had a voice to give our game the support it needed and we knew that we could turn to you for anything,” she added.
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