As a cricketer, she feels the need to be familiar with even the minutest detail of the game. Her interest prompted her to take the road less travelled by women. Rosanara Parwin (21) is the first woman cricketer from Odisha who played in the women World Cup T20 Cricket tournament in 2012. She received Sportsperson of the Year Award at the second Sportslogon Sports Award function at Bhubaneswar recently.
Rosanara Parwin aka Rasanara Kephatulla Parwin is a right-arm off-break bowler for the India national women’s cricket team. She played in the 2013 Women’s Cricket World Cup against West Indies.
Rosanara, who is from Odisha’s Balangir district made her international debut during a match against Pakistan in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka in 2012. Rosanara impressed a lot, but India lost the match by one run.
Pakistan was restricted to 98-9 in 20 overs, as Parwin took two wickets for just 15 runs in four overs. However, Indian batswomen could not live up to the expectations and managed 97/8 in 20 overs.
“I was crazy about the game from an early age. But in those days’ women’s cricket was hardly recognised. The passion kept me going,” she says. Rosanara adds that there is no point in comparing men’s and women’s cricket and that both are separate entities. “Both have their own charm. Although men’s cricket is very popular in the country at the moment, women’s cricket is also catching up,” she says with pride.
The young cricketer adds that a lot of girls still feel cricket is a men’s game and that there is a need for a change in mindset.