Rohit Sharma was “Challenged By Her Inswinger” when Jhulan Goswami bowed to her. 

Jhulan Goswami, a legendary Indian women’s bowler, is playing her final series in England. After the ODI series against England, the seasoned pacer is planning to retire. The 39-year-old, who has participated in over 250 international games for India, was honoured on Sunday by the men’s team captain Rohit Sharma, who referred to her as a “stalwart” for the squad. As he was recovering from an injury, he remembered another time the two of them were at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and he got the chance to compete against her in the nets.

“I have only had few interactions with her, when I was injured at the NCA, she was also there and she was bowling to me,” Rohit Sharma revealed in a press conference ahead of India’s three-match T20I series against Australia at home. “I was challenged with her inswingwer, it was good to see,” Rohit said. He was full of praise for the veteran pacer. “I think she is one of India’s stalwarts in terms of what she has done for the country, lead bowler for India. Whenever I have seen her play, she has always shown so much passion for the country, which is a good learning for all the young kids who are coming up and wanting to represent the country, whether it is women’s cricket or men’s cricket,” Rohit Sharma said.

“I do not know how old she is, even at this age, she is running this hard and trying to knock the opposition out. It tells you something, it tells you about the passion she has,” he added. “I can only wish her the best for the future, you do not find a player like that everytime. She is once-in-a-generation player,” Rohit said. “Big, big congratulations on such a wonderful career. Mithali (Raj) and Jhulan are the ones who have taken Indian women’s cricket to a different height. And the current team are trying to take that legacy forward, they are playing some good cricket which is very exciting to watch,” he concluded.