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Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008
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Her run-up is from the council end

Hansa Jayant, Kozhikode corporation councillor

It is not just the Kozhikode Corporation Council meetings that Hansa Jayant has to attend these days. The councillor is also busy attending meetings of an entirely different nature. She is a member of the selection committee to pick Kerala’s senior women’s cricket team.

Hansa, a former Kerala player, says she is happy to be involved once again with the sport that has always been so close to her. “Over the last few days, I have been watching some fine young players at the State women’s championship at the Corporation Stadium,” she adds.

Unlike players of her generation, she feels, a female cricketer has several reasons to play the sport today. “With the merger of the State women’s cricket wing with the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) you are paid well when you represent the State and you also get grace marks in public examinations,” she says. “I believe more girls should take up cricket, especially in a place like Kozhikode, which has a sport tradition. We are planning some camps in Kozhikode to attract players,” she says.

Hansa, who used to bowl off-spin and bat in the middle order, recalls the early days of the game in the city while she was studying at the Providence Women’s College. “I was part of the first women’s team from Kozhikode and was lucky enough to play against cricketers like Shanta Rangaswamy, Diana Eduljee and Sudha Shah, all of whom have captained India,” she says.

P.K. Ajith Kumar

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