India’s U19 World Cup star Hrishita Basu received a grand welcome from her family and friends at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata.
Hrishita was seen with her family and loved ones, who were ecstatic about her arrival. The fans greeted her in a fervorous manner to the beats of dhol and welcomed her with great exuberance and delight, showering her with flowers.
The young cricketer was also welcomed by West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas and the Cricket Association of Bengal Snehasish Ganguly at the Kolkata airport who congratulated her and the team and said that the country is proud of them.
Extending his warm wishes to the three Bengali cricketers Hrishita Basu, Titas Das and Richa Ghosh, the Sports Minister said, “They are the daughters of the country. I am proud of them. I congratulate Shafali Verma and the entire team for this historic win.”
“Three players and a bowling coach from Bengal made a contribution to the country. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee congratulated them and also announced rewards for them,” he added.
The CAB Chieft Ganguly termed the historic win of the U-19 women’s team revolutionary for Bengal cricket and hoped for something big in Indian Cricket in the future.
“Winning a Word Cup at any level is fantastic and tough. This win is a revolution for Bengal cricket and Indian cricket. We hope all families that have daughters will come forward and encourage them. I can see something big happening in Indian cricket,” said Ganguly.
The 19-year-old right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman, hailing from Howrah walked into bat in the final with India on the cusp of a historic feat.
Speaking to ANI, cricketer Basu expressed her joy of winning the world cup and said, “We manifested the win while moving to the battleground. This is surreal and we are extremely happy to take the cup home.”
Finding her love for cricket at the age of 12, Basu said that she get her inspiration from MS Dhoni, Jhulan Goswami and said that she wants to become like them.
Taking about the felicitation of the World Cup stars by BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, Basu said, “We felt joyous after being felicitated by BCCI Secretary. We are getting extreme love from the country and want to play for the Indian Women’s Cricket team.”
Her mother, who was ecstatic by her daughter’s ace performance in the world cup, said, “I want her to grow and achieve greater heights in this field. We are extremely happy and proud of her.”
On Sunday, Team India defeated England in a one-sided summit clash, first bowling them out for 68 and then chasing down the target in 14 overs. India became the first-ever ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup winner on Sunday.
Indian bowlers’ tremendous bowling performance followed by Gongadi Trisha and Soumya Tiwari’s knocks helped India lift the inaugural U19 Women’s T20 World Cup title after defeating England by seven wickets in the summit clash at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom, South Africa. (ANI)
