Jhulan Goswami’s only thinking about ‘next series and performing in it’ until 2022 World Cup

The Indian women’s team has seen exponential growth in recent times. The team has reached the finals of the 2017 ICC World cup and the 2020 ICC Women’s World T20, only to falter at the final hurdle. One of India’s longest-serving cricketers Jhulan Goswami, who has been an integral part of the team’s success is looking to have one final crack at glory.

But, the World cup being postponed by a year has left her dreams in limbo. "Yes, 2022 is the goal now but you have to be part of the process and play matches consistently and perform and then you can think about the World Cup because there is a lot of time left and it is not round the corner anymore," Goswami told PTI.

"We have got a lot of time for preparation, almost 18 months, but on the other hand, it would have been good if it happened next year as I was focused on that for long. Now you will need to think beyond that. At this time, I can only think about the next series and performing in it and start from zero. I can't tell you what may happen between now and 2022 as it is still far away.”

However, Goswami was in agreement with the ICC’s decision to postpone the tournament citing lack of match preparation as a valid reason to alter the schedule. "With the current Covid-19 situation, the preparation was held up," she said. "If you are going to the World Cup you have to be prepared. You have lot of things going in the mind, combinations, and ideas and you need time to try them. On that front, we will get enough time to prepare but if Covid-19 hadn't happened, we would have played the World Cup timely and it would have been better for us.. Having said that, we respect the decision taken by the authorities. It would have not been easy to create a bio-bubble for eight teams, hopefully, there will be a vaccine soon.”

With the pandemic confining players indoors, Goswami has found it difficult to keep her preparations up. "At this moment, it is about getting access to the ground, hopefully, we will have a camp in September before the Women's T20 Challenge, which is the next assignment we have," said the veteran fast bowler from Bengal. "I have not been bowling at all. It is difficult in my surroundings as I live in a colony. I have been regular with fitness. Plus, the monsoons are also here and the ground is not available.”

[ESPNCricinfo inputs]