The women’s cricketing fraternity is in tears today. Former Indian women's cricket team coach Sreerupa Bose (Mukherjee) is no more. The batswoman had suffered a massive cardiac arrest on Thursday morning (Nov 30) and passed away. She was 66.
Bose took her last breath at her Salt Lake home in the eastern part of Kolkata.
The proud mother of tennis player Amrita Mukherjee and wife of former Bengal Olympic Association (BOA) president, Paresh Nath Mukherjee, Sreerupa was a legendary cricketer herself.
Also a bowler, Sreerupa had represented India in a couple of one-day Internationals. She played for the country in two ODIs against New Zealand women in 1985, conceding just 35 runs off 13 overs. The medium pace-bowling all-rounder played numerous games during her playing days for Bengal.
READ: Mithali Raj To Write Her Memoir
In the latter half of her career, she took over the responsibility of a coach and trained the national team for the side during the ICC Women's World Cup in 1993, 1997 and 2000.
“Sreerupa was great with man-management. She could get things done and could mould the team well,” her old friend and former chief national selector Rangaswamy told Sportstar.
After her glorious coaching career, she went on to become the chairperson of the Women's Cricket Association of India's selection committee. Sreerupa continued to play a key role in women's cricket affairs after WCAI merged with BCCI in 2006.
“We kept on telling her that she was more like a school monitor, who could get the best out of a team. Bengal did very well in those days, largely because of her,” Rangaswamy, who was the vice-captain of the Indian team that took on the Australia U-25 squad in an unofficial Test series in 1975, said.
May her soul rest in peace.
Also Read: At last, gender parity in daily allowances for women’s and men’s cricket teams
Also Read: Team India Flaunts Mothers’ Names On Jerseys
Feature Image Credit: Hindustan Times
Join Us on https://www.facebook.com/SheThePeoplePage
Follow Us on https://twitter.com/SheThePeopleTV