City welcomes stars of Women's Cricket Team

Agra: The City of Taj will now also be known as home to international female cricketers as Deepti Sharma and Poonam Yadav returned to their home town after the astounding performance at the ICC Women's World Cup this year. Hemlata Kala, former captain of the women's cricket team, also accompanied the two cricketers for a roadshow that started from Bhagwan Talkies and culminated at Eklavya Sports Stadium on Friday.Thousands of fans rallied along with the three cricketers as they rode on a jeep, with young boys and girls cheering their sports icons all along the route.
A soft spoken Hemlata Kala, who is the chairperson of BCCI women’s selection panel, recalls the first time when she saw 25-year-old Poonam Yadav and 19-year-old Deepti Sharma training at Eklavya stadium. “They played amazingly well at the World Cup and I am proud of them,” Kala said.
Young sports enthusiasts waved the Tricolour and there were banners congratulating the two cricketers as they passed through the MG Road, waving at the crowd and speaking to people and media persons. Sharma, who plays left-hand bat and bowls right-arm off-break, said she was thrilled to see a massive crowd putting garlands and cheering for her.
Leg spinner Poonam Yadav said she was elated at the support and the love she received at her home town. “People are the ones who can lift you up and they also have the power to put you down. We are winners not because of how we played at the World Cup but because of the support we have received from the people that encouraged us to come this far.”
Talking about their final match against England on Sunday, Sharma said, “While on the ground, we just kept in mind that we needed to give our best, not to be out and to make as many runs as possible. Though we lost the match, we haven’t lost hope. Given the immense support from our countrymen, we will definitely win the next World Cup.”
The girls, who had also met PM Narendra Modi on Thursday, said it was a dream come true. “It was an honour to meet the Prime Minister of our country and see him supporting us. We also met film actor Akshay Kumar, who also congratulated us for our performance at the World Cup,” said Sharma, who said she was a fan of the actor.
Deepti was nine years old when she begged her elder brother to take her to the cricket ground to practice, and while waiting at the girls' practice area at Ekalavya Sports Stadium, a ball came rolling towards her and she casually threw it at the stumps, hitting them.
Hemlata Kala, the current chairperson of BCCI women's selection panel and who had trained Poonam Yadav, noticed Deepti and predicted that she would one day represent India in the women’s cricket team and asked her brother to bring her for practice regularly.
Poonam Yadav said she used to get hurt frequently while playing the sport, but with Kala's training and support, she could make it to the women’s cricket team.