Jhulan Goswami always had the competitive streak: Former India captain Mithali Raj pays tribute to retiring pacer

Former India captain Mithali Raj paid tribute to Jhulan Goswami saying that she had a competitive streak in her and was spitting fire in the nets.

Goswami will call it a day after the third ODI between India and England on Saturday. Tributes have been flowing in for the India pacer, with the England team giving her a guard of honour as she walked in to bat.

Speaking to PTI about Goswami, Raj said that she was always easy to reach out and was always high on energy.

“We are of the same age, so we have that comfort level and communication,” Raj said. “It was always very easy to reach out to her and speak to her. Someone who was always high on energy on the ground, may be because she is a fast bowler.”

The former skipper then went on to talk about the competitive nature of the 39-year-old even in the nets and Raj said that she enjoyed her rivalry with Goswami.

“In the nets, I would often ask her ‘why are you spitting fire, you are my team-mate only na’. Then she would say ‘to get out is the toughest’. She always had the competitive streak, including domestic cricket, where we played against each other often. I enjoyed that rivalry as well,” said Raj.

Raj also commented on how Goswami was a lone ranger for the Indian bowling at times by applying pressure on the opposition.

“She was a lone ranger from one end for a very long time. She would get support at times, but often she would be the only one trying to put pressure. That holds true even in the recent times,” said Raj.

The former skipper also said that having Goswami in the team helped as she was a mentor to her teammates and always provided her an opinion when she needed help.

“We had a lot of fun probably early in our careers though she was more at the receiving end of my pranks. As we got older and matured, we saw many of our team-mates leave the game and both of us were left among a bunch of new faces.”

“Having her in the team helped because she was also that person who would speak to everybody and communicate. Whenever I needed an opinion she would always give one,” said Raj.