In the dusty bylanes of Ghuwara, a small village in Madhya Pradesh around 264.1 km from Bhopal, young Kranti Goud once faced scorn for doing something as simple as picking up a cricket ball.
“In my village, girls were not allowed to play,” she told PTI Videos. “People used to ask my family, ‘Why are you letting her play with boys?’ But I thought one day I would make them clap for my performance.”
Today, at 22, those same neighbours cheer her name after India’s women’s team was crowned world champions, a campaign in which Goud’s nine wickets at an average of 18.55, including a match-winning spell against Pakistan, proved decisive.
“I didn’t even know there was an Indian women’s cricket team,” she told PTI Videos, refle cting on her journey. “That’s where everything began for me.”
Her path to glory was a weave of chance and perseverance. She recalled how, in her childhood, she would stand at the edge of the local field, returning stray balls as boys played cricket nearby.
“One day they were short of a player, so they asked me to join,” she laughed. “At first, they only made me field, but slowly I began bowling. I didn’t even know what spin bowling was — I just copied their fast bowling.”
A turning point came when local cricket official Rajiv Bilthre noticed her raw pace.
“He asked if I wanted to play international cricket,” Goud said. “I wasn’t aware a women’s team even existed. He took me to his academy, and within six months, I was playing senior division matches. Within a year, I represented Madhya Pradesh’s under-19 team.”
Her consistency and determination soon caught national attention. Making her international debut in May this year, Goud now stands among India’s brightest young stars.
“I’m feeling proud,” she said. “This was my first World Cup, and we’ve returned as world champions. It’s a moment of pride not just for me and my family, but for the entire country.”
Behind her humility lies a sharp cricketing mind. “I try to do what Sir — head coach Amol Muzumdar — tells me,” she said. “I don’t try too much. Coaches across WPL, domestic, and international cricket say the same thing: bowl at the stumps.”
The past week has been a dream for the young bowler. After meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday and President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday, she shared one particularly personal moment from her chat with the prime minister.
“I told him my brother admires him a lot,” Goud said with a smile. “The Prime Minister replied, ‘I’ll make sure to meet your brother soon.’”
For a girl who once wasn’t allowed to play, Kranti Goud’s story is now inspiring countless others to believe that a cricket ball — and courage — can change everything.
