On Tuesday, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) honoured legendary women’s cricketer Jhulan Goswami for her contributions to Indian and Bengal cricket and Indian Army war hero Colonel Neelakantan Jayachandran Nair for his service to the nation.
At the felicitation ceremony held on the lawns of the Eden Gardens clubhouse, the CAB revealed that two stands of the iconic stadium would be named in honour of the two distinguished personalities. The newly dedicated stands will be inaugurated on January 22, when India face England in a T20I match at Eden Gardens.
Both Goswami and Colonel Nair were presented with mementoes. On behalf of his late father, Shibam J Nair accepted the souvenir.
Former India captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly was present at Eden Gardens on Tuesday along with CAB President Snehasish Ganguly, Secretary Naresh Prabhulal Ojha, other board officials and officers from Bengal sub-area of Indian Army’s Eastern Command.
Born in West Bengal’s Chakdaha, Goswami is the highest wicket-taker in women’s international cricket with 353 wickets in 283 matches. She was the ICC Women’s Player of the Year in 2007 and won the Arjuna Award in 2010 and Padma Shri in 2012.
The former right-arm pacer, who retired from the international game in 2022, holds the record for most wickets in women’s ODI cricket. A living legend, the 42-year-old was the first cricketer to take 250 wickets in a women’s ODI.
“I first saw Jhulan Goswami in the early 2000s bowling at Eden Gardens. To see her come all this way, it’s not just remarkable or a fairy tale but a story which says that if you want to play cricket you can succeed irrespective of where you come from,” Ganguly said.
Goswami, who attended the event at Eden Gardens, conveyed her deep gratitude for the honour conferred upon her by the CAB. She mentioned that Ganguly had been her idol and a source of inspiration when she began her cricketing journey.
Colonel Nair, fondly known as NJ, was a distinguished officer of the Indian Army. He remains the sole individual to have received both the Ashoka Chakra, the highest peacetime military honour, and the Kirti Chakra, the second-highest.
The two new dedicated stands are in addition to the existing stands named after Sourav Ganguly, Pankaj Roy, B.N. Dutt, Jagmohan Dalmiya, Lieutenant Colonel Dhan Singh Thapa, Subedar Joginder Singh Sahnan and Havildar Hangpan Dada.
