India’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana congratulated skipper Harmanpreet Kaur after the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) unveiled a stand in her honour at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium on Thursday. Two new stands were inaugurated at the venue, with the other being named after former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh.
The inauguration ceremony was led by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and PCA President Amarjit Mehta. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Mithun Manhas and Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria were also present on the occasion.
The BCCI shared a video from the ceremony on its social media handles. Reposting the same on her Instagram story, Mandhana wrote, “Congratulations @imharmanpreet_kaur!! What a day for women’s cricket and so so proud of you!”
Harmanpreet Calls It An Emotional Milestone
In the video, Harmanpreet described the moment as one of the most special in her life. She said, “After winning the World Cup, a lot of things have changed in my life. But I think this is a special moment for me. The soil on which I started playing—today I will finally have a stand on my name. So I think it’s a very proud moment for me and I really want to thank the Punjab Cricket Association for that. All the hard work, all the struggle, has paid off today. So I think it is a very emotional moment for me. But also, whoever is going to watch this video, whoever is listening, I think it is going to be very motivational for all of them.”
Last month, Harmanpreet created history by leading India to their first senior ICC women’s cricket trophy. The Women in Blue defeated South Africa by 52 runs at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai to lift the coveted silverware.
With this honour, Harmanpreet became only the third Indian woman cricketer to have a stand named after her. Earlier, Jhulan Goswami (Eden Gardens, Kolkata) and Mithali Raj (ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam) were accorded the recognition. She is also the only active Indian cricketer to have a stand named in her honour.
In the presence of Mann and other PCA office-bearers, cash rewards of Rs 11 lakh each were presented to Harmanpreet, Amanjot Kaur and Harleen Deol. The fielding coach of the World Cup-winning team, Munish Bali, was awarded Rs 5 lakh.
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