Despite becoming a regular member of the Indian women’s cricket team, pacer Kranti Gaud has not forgotten her roots and the sacrifices that her parents made to support her career and she wants to repay their faith by excelling at the ongoing T20 World Cup here.
Gaud, who hails from a small village in Madhya Pradesh, recollected how her mother sold jewellery to buy her a cricket kit.
“If your family supports you, then what others say doesn’t matter because those outsiders are not supporting you anyway. I am grateful to my family for standing by me through every step because there were a lot of problems. There was always a shortage of money,” Gaud told JioStar.
Now, Gaud wants to make her family proud by performing well for India.
“My mother sold her jewellery to buy me a proper cricket kit. That was a huge sacrifice. My family was doing so much for me, and that made me feel responsible. I wanted to give something back to them. I wanted to make their sacrifice count.” Gaud said she is indebted to her family forever for giving the freedom to pursue a career of her choice.
“At that time, many girls were not even allowed to step out. But my parents were different. They never made me feel that I was doing something wrong. They believed in my dream,” she said.
“It gave me the strength to keep going and keep chasing my goal. When you know your family is with you, the world outside becomes easier to ignore,” she added.
Gaud’s entry into Indian cricket also sparked changes in her village, as a cricket academy was opened and parents are now allowing girls to take sports as a career.
“Because of my performances for India in the ODI World Cup (in 2025), a cricket academy has opened up in Ghuwara village, where I hail from. Many young girls are now coming there to play cricket. That is a proud moment for me.
“Their parents are now trusting their daughters and believing that they can build a career in this sport. I meet these girls regularly. The World Cup win has played a huge role in this change,” she noted.
Now, Gaud is all set to rattle Bangladesh in a crucial World Cup match at Manchester. India need to win this match to stay in the race to the semifinals.
“I always think that I must give my 100 per cent. Whatever ball I bowl, I try to give my best. We keep working on new deliveries, but we focus more on our strengths, the deliveries that get us wickets,” she said.
