Indian veteran Jhulan Goswami's emotional goodbye to international cricket

Jhulan Goswami signed off from international cricket in the best way possible, with a fantastic victory for the Women in Blue. She helped India complete a clean sweep of the ODI series in England, a first even for her in her two-decade-long career.

Her final ODI started with a touching gesture from Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur, where she got Jhulan Goswami to call the toss in her final game.

Players and staff, all in the vicinity of the Indian veteran, couldn't hide their emotions after seeing one of their most experienced players bid farewell to the international game.

In fact, when Jhulan walked out to bat, England also gave her a guard of honour in a heartwarming move from captain Amy Jones. And even though the Indian veteran departed for a duck, she will never forget the standing ovation she got from the crowd at Lord’s.

Jhulan finished her career as the highest wicket-taker in women’s ODIs but no matter how successful her career has been, she still rues the fact that she never got to lift a World Cup.

Being part of two 50-over World Cup finals (2005 and 2017) and not being able to win at least one title has been the biggest regret of her star-studded career.

"If we would have won one of those [two World Cup finals], it would have been great for Team India and women's cricket,” Jhulan had said before her final match.

But Jhulan remains an icon for the women’s game in India. Her name will forever be etched in cricket history, and she rightly got another recognition when her state cricket board, the Cricket Association of Bengal, decided to honour her by naming a stand at the iconic Eden Gardens after her.

The 39-year-old won’t ply her trade in international cricket anymore, but fans are hopeful they will get to see the ‘Chakdaha Express’ turn up at the Women’s IPL next year. Whether they get their wish or not remains to be seen, but her departure marks the end of an era for the Women in Blue!