Kranti Gaud says Lord's honours board 'feels like a dream' after England Test heroics
The brass plate on the wooden Lord’s board, with her name carved on it, is a testament to the personal trials and tribulations of the girl from Ghuwara, a small village in the harsh and unforgiving Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh. Kranti had to overcome resistance, ridicule and the stiff social barriers that often shackle the aspirations of women in rural India.
The allrounder, who picked up the player-of-the-match award, arrived to a hero’s welcome here on Thursday, a brief stopover before she returns to her native village in MP’s Chhatarpur district.
Taking to TOI , the pacer relived years of struggle in a corner of Bundelkhand where the very idea of girls taking up sport was typically met with scorn. “People would taunt me and my family, asking why they let a girl play cricket,” the 22-year-old said. “I can’t describe my feelings as I saw my name go up on the Lord’s honours board. My journey from Ghuwara to Lord’s feels no less than living a dream.”
Kranti’s journey has sparked a quiet revolution back home. She said about 40 girls from the Bundelkhand region are now playing cricket, a tangible sign that mindsets are shifting. “It’s a matter of pride that my journey is giving a new belief to parents to place their trust in their daughters and encourage them to pursue cricket.”
