After 19 solid years of successful, relentless, and record-breaking runs, the Chakdaha Express is coming to a halt. As the women in blue set out at Lord’s on Saturday to whitewash the ODI series against England, India will also bid adieu to Jhulan Goswami, a legend in women’s cricket and a prolific fast bowler.
Her journey, from a young ball girl in the 1997 World Cup final at Eden Gardens, where she was inspired by Cathryn Fitzpatrick swinging the ball, to playing alongside the current, younger lot of bowlers like Renuka Thakur and Meghna Singh, who have grown up on her foundations, is one for the history books.
While we may not be able to witness her deadly in-swingers on the field anymore, she will continue to motivate many in the times to come. Here are a few insights you can glean from her glorious life to make your financial run-up just as precise and effective as her.
Start Young, But Think Long-Term
Goswami’s love affair with cricket began when she was just 15. She was all of 19 years when she was called upon to represent India in the ODI series against England (befittingly her last opponents as well) in January 2022. Over the course of the next two decades, she went on to become the only woman in cricketing history to have more than 200 ODI wickets under her belt.
Such is the extent of her career that she was the team’s captain when India’s current skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur, made her international debut in 2009. While her success is for everyone to see, what is often glossed out is her years of dedication, consistency and commitment to the game.
Much like cricket, stock markets, too, reward the persistent and patient. You need to stay put and battle market volatilities to get the most on your investments. In addition, you need the unwavering conviction that you can, indeed, ace it. Like Jhulan, who always believed she could change the face of women’s cricket, despite it being a long process.
Consider this. The S&P BSE Sensex, over the last year, delivered a negative return of 2.98%. But the same index, over a 10-year period, generated 11.97%. That’s why, thinking long-term is always the way to go.
Adapt, Change, Modify
When Jhulan started her career, fitness and training facilities for women in cricket were scant. Also, when she began playing, simultaneously participating across formats i.e. ODI, T20 and Test cricket was not the norm. In fact, Indian women played their first T20I only in 2006. But over the last decade, times have drastically changed.
Sponsorships, broadcasting and intense fitness standards have now taken hold. And in keeping with them, Jhulan has stepped up, as well. Adding more variations of deliveries to her repertoire, she has maintained status-quo as the chief wicket-taking bowler in the team all these years.
Just like her, rebalancing and constantly managing your investments to match the market conditions is what will lead to long-term financial success. Times, and the stock markets, do not remain the same for long. Hence, make sure you seek out expert advice and regularly ensure that your investments are taking the best possible advantage of current conditions.
It’s easy to be deterred, harder to stay put
In the initial days, the women’s team had to pay from their own pockets to fund their playing in tournaments. In many interviews, Jhulan has also confessed she did not have enough money to buy bowling spikes, nor the money to go on these tours. Naturally, she dwelled upon the thought of giving up. Add to that the multitude of perils and injuries that accompany a fast bowler.
And after everything, remember, the market is not one to submit to whims. Despite having played two ODI World Cup finals, she did not have the honour of lifting that trophy for India.
Likewise, do not try and time the market to your gain, nor shy away after one financial loss. Fortune favours the brave on the field, like Goswami, and the ones unyielding in stock markets.
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