Cricketers In Lockdown: What Are Mithali Raj And Jhulan Goswami Upto?

Indian women cricket team’s senior player Mithali Raj and stalwart Jhulan Goswami are struggling to make the best use of this free time. Both players are now retired from the Twenty20 format, and are eyeing the 2021 World Cup in New Zealand. But is the lockdown restricting them from preparing for the next big event?  Recently, the BCCI had to cancel two major domestic events, Senior Women's One-Day knockout and Senior Women's One-Day Challenger, the Cricbuzz reported.

Key Takeaways:

• Indian women's ODI captain Mithali Raj said she is spending time on improving her "batting skills in the car park area and take leisurely walk on the terrace while watching the sunset. These things keep me going."
• She also urged fellow citizens to follow the 'lockdown' guidelines as the country fight to contain the outbreak of deadly COVID-19.
• "I have asked my cook to stay at home. So, I have to fix lunch and dinner for myself," Jhulan claimed.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced the extension of the nationwide lockdown till May 3.

Mithali said, "For Jhulan and I, who have limited ourselves to just one format, it's little difficult as we have been out of action for a while." The ODI captain was recently seen at distributing groceries to the needy on behalf of Sports Authority of Telangana at LB Stadium in Hyderabad.

"The BCCI had scheduled the domestic T20 meet to prepare for the T20 World Cup in Australia. So a delayed start to the one-day meets was on cards, but unfortunately the tournaments had to be cancelled. It was quite a setback as I was looking forward to playing some competitive cricket before our next international engagement," said Jhulan from her Dum Dum home.

Quarantine is frustrating

The need of the hour is to stay home and stay safe. However, for athletes like Mithali the idle time spending at home is frustrating. "It felt odd initially as I was not going to the ground at all. It took me some time to get used to this new way of life," the world's most-capped (209) ODI player said from her Secunderabad home.

READ: No Gymming? Athletes Are Using These Jugaads To Workout At Home

How not get bored

To counter boredom, Mithali is going with a timetable prepared for herself. "I wake up before dawn, go to the terrace and work out. It's beautiful to watch the sun rise. Then I have breakfast with my dad, something I had not done for a long time. I also water the plants and relax by watching something interesting on Netflix. In the evening I spend some time on improving my batting skills in the car park area and take leisurely walk on the terrace while watching the sun set. These things keep me going," said Mithali.

Workout

While both the ace cricketers are giving a good amount of time to working out, they are also passing the time by listening to music and watching movies, Jhulan is experimenting on her cooking skills. "I have asked my cook to stay at home. So, I have to fix lunch and dinner for myself," Jhulan said.

As they both have hardly any match practice, Jhulan and Mithali are trying to stay fit for their next assignment that is World Cup qualifiers to be held in Sri Lanka in July.

On COVID-19

"Things are so gloomy all over the world. I can only pray for all those who are engaged in fighting this deadly virus. Tournaments can be rescheduled but lives cannot be sacrificed," Mithali said.

Jhulan agreed saying, "The need of the hour is to keep ourselves safe. There will be many matches to play after we get past this phase."

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