Jhulan Goswami’s inclusion in the England-bound squad is a “window” given to her by the selectors for a well-deserved farewell match, sources said on Saturday.
The 39-year-old pacer is most likely to retire from international cricket at Lord’s, after the third and final ODI on September 24.
Jhulan holds the record for taking the most nu m b e r o f w i cke t s i n women’s ODIs and the women’s World Cup.
She has a total of 352 wickets across formats, the highest in women’s internationals. Her last international appearance was the World Cup game versus Bangladesh, in March, before a side strain ruled her out of India’s remaining campaign.
Thereafter, she visited the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore as part of her rehabilitation and recovery.
It is understood that Jhulan was keen to travel to Sri Lanka for India’s three one-dayers last month but didn’t find a place in the squad.
There is talk that the selectors have spoken to her about looking to the future and building a pool of young fast bowlers.
“She wasn’t considered for the Sri Lanka tour, which was kind of an indication that the team wanted to move on and focus on younger players.
Whether she had recovered completely from her side strain was also a question. “But she has been attending the Bengal women’s training sessions on a regular basis.
And also because of her stature, the Board did consider a request from some quarters and deemed it necessary to give Jhulan a proper farewell,” a source said.
“However, there’s no guarantee whether she will be a part of the team in all those three ODIs in England,” the source maintained.
On her part, though, Jhulan refused to make any comment on the entire issue.
“Although there wasn’t any confirmation as such from her side, she did say earlier, ‘I might quit after the England tour. Let’s see how things pan out,” a source close to Jhulan said.
She could though be seen playing at the domestic level and has been included in Bengal squad for the National T20 tournament, beginning October 11.
She is also likely to play in the inaugural Women’s IPL in March next year.
