Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while interacting with the World Cup-winning Indian women’s cricket team, commended the players’ individual efforts in achieving the collective goal of winning the prestigious
trophy. Among the players was wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh, who holds both the U19 World Cup trophy and the WPL title.
During the meeting at his official residence at Lok Kalyan Marg, PM Modi underscored Richa’s accomplishments and remarked, “Richa, you win every game you play, don’t you? Richa gets a chance everywhere.”
Richa, with a shy smile, responded, “I don’t know, sir. But yes, when we were under-19s, seniors, and in the WPL, we used to win trophies.”
Richa played the semifinal against Australia and the final despite a hairline fracture in her left-hand middle finger, an injury she sustained while keeping against New Zealand during the group stage, causing her to miss the washed-out match against Bangladesh.
“When we used to bat, we used to hit sixes. I think Harry Di (Harmanpreet), Smriti (Mandhana), and others trusted us. The whole team trusted us. If there’s a situation where the balls are fewer but you need more runs, they trust us — that’s why I got the confidence that ‘you can do it’,” Richa added.
PM Tells Go To Schools
PM Modi also appealed to Indian cricketers to go to their respective schools and interact with kids.
“Once you go back your home, naturally there will be euphoria and excitement. But after a few days, go to the school you graduated from and spend a day talking to the kids. They will ask you a lot of questions,” he said.
“I believe that the school and those kids will remember you for the rest of their lives. You could then select three schools whenever you get a chance in a year — one day one school and that way you do three schools. It also motivates you in a way,” he added.
(With inputs from Agencies)
