Richa Ghosh, India’s Women’s World Cup-winning cricketer, received a gold-plated bat and ball, as well as a cheque for INR 34 lakh, representing each run she scored in the competition, which saw the Women in Blue win. Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, was also in attendance at the coveted event, which was held at Kolkata’s famed Eden Gardens.
Mamata, representing the West Bengal government, presented the prized Banga Bhushan award and a gold necklace to the Siliguri-born sportsman. The 22-year-old was also appointed Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in the state’s law enforcement.
Former Indian captains Sourav Ganguly and Jhulan Goswami also attended the ceremony. While Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Ganguly applauded Richa’s aggressive hitting style, Jhulan, who quickly promoted Richa to the national team, stated that the goal now should be to generate several female cricketers like the youthful wicketkeeper-batsman.
“Richa’s role at No.6 is difficult. She has to score rapidly in lesser number of deliveries. Her strike rate is the difference between India scoring 265 and 325,” stated Ganguly, as quoted by Sportstar.
“We should capitalise on this moment to produce many more Richas,” mentioned Jhulan.
Around about 50 young female budding cricketers also marked their attendance at the event, and were attending the event donning Richa’s No. 13 jersey. They cheered her on and were even snapped alongside the wicketkeeper-batter on stage. Richa’s parents had attended the ceremony too.
Richa Ghosh scored 235 runs in eight innings at a remarkable strike rate of 133.52.
She hit as many as 23 fours and 12 sixes during the mega event. Her highest score of 94 came during the league phase against South Africa. She fell just six runs short in a knock in which she faced only 77 deliveries.
India
