‘The game has become faster but I have become slow’: Jhulan Goswami on T20I retirement

Veteran India pacer Jhulan Goswami on Thursday cited struggles with keeping with the demands of the pace of the game as the reason for calling it quits from Twenty20 Internationals.

Goswami announced her retirement from T20Is, ruling her out for the World T20 in West Indies in November. She played 68 matches and took 56 wickets at an economy rate of 5.45. The 35-year-old will only play One-day Internationals (as India don’t play Test cricket), in which format she is the world’s highest wicket-taker.

“It’s not an overnight decision. I have been thinking about this for a long time. The game has become faster but I have become slow. I am getting older,” the 35-year-old said.

Of late, her lack of wickets in shortest version was coming under the scanner and her big-hitting abilities at the back end was also on the wane. A trigger would have been the underwhelming performance at the Asia Cup where India lost to Bangladesh twice, including in the final.

Goswami, who opened the bowling, got only one wicket in four matches and never looked penetrative enough. With Shikha Pandey ready to take over as pace spearhead and young guns like Pooja Vastrakar and Mansi Joshi showing promise, it was time for the Bengal speedster to make way for the next generation.

Asked whether she would regret missing out on playing in another World T20, she said: “It’s not the time to regret. I’ve to focus on ODIs.”

While there are murmurs in the cricketing fraternity that Goswami has been pushed to retirement due to her dismal show in the Asia Cup, she insisted that no one pressurised her. “I am not going to disclose what happened but it was going on my mind (after the Asia Cup). Cricket has become tougher, and I have realised my body is taking time to recover,” Goswami.

“Injury is part and parcel of every sportperson’s life. You have to cope with it. But there was no pressure from anyone. It’s my personal decision. I thank the Board to support me all the way,” she said.

Goswami along with Mithali Raj are the two oldest cricketers in the current set-up, having made her debut against England in Chennai back in 2002.