Glad to have finally fulfilled my mother’s Hajj dream: Tarannum Pathan

While growing up, Tarannum Pathan’s family never had it easy, as their financial condition wasn’t good. However, things are much better today and the all-rounder from Vadodara, who was bought by Team Gujarat for ₹10 lakh at the Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction in 2023, has managed to fulfil a long-cherished dream. She tells us, “My mother (Mumtaz Banu) wanted to go for Hajj for a very long time, but we couldn’t afford it earlier. It was my dream to make this dream come true and I had promised her, ‘Main aap ko Hajj ke liye bhejungi.’ When I was selected to play in the league, it made things easy for me. I feel glad to have finally fulfilled my mother’s Hajj dream.” She adds, “I feel grateful because thanks to cricket, kaafi chhote chhote wishes jo hain, woh poore hue hain. She was overjoyed when she got to know about her trip. Paisa toh kal bhi bana lenge, lekin agar mummy khush hain, toh mere liye wahi sabse badi baat hai.” Tarannum, the first woman cricketer from Gujarat to pick up 200 wickets in different formats, represented Team Baroda for 16 years but currently, she represents Team Goa. This being the off season, she has been training in Vadodara. She tells us, “I am taking things one day at a time now. During the last season, while I picked up wickets for Goa, I was not happy about my performances as a batter. I am trying to improve my game and make sure that I don’t repeat the mistakes that I made last season. I am looking forward to the practice matches.” Talking about her dream of representing India, she says, “Although I got to play only one WPL match last year, I got to learn a lot by sharing the dressing room with some terrific players. It was wonderful to interact with cricketers from other countries. They are very open-minded and don’t judge people. It was also wonderful to be guided by legends like Mithali Raj.” Tarannum adds, “Cricket has become a very fast game and now, there’s tough competition in women’s cricket too. I am focused on doing well this season because if I play well, there is no reason why I can’t get selected in the Indian team. If you perform well, age doesn’t matter. Pretty recently, Asha Sobhana made her debut for India at 33. It was heartening to see that.”