Shamik Chakrabarty at Eden Gardens
Barun Guha left Calcutta for England in 1965. Isa, his daughter, who would go on to represent the England women’s cricket team, was born in High Wycombe in 1985.
Now 81 years old, Barun is back to his roots after a long time. On Thursday, as Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings trained at Eden Gardens, he was in attendance, along with his daughter.
Isa is not commentating in this year’s IPL. The father and daughter are vacationing. “I’m having a lot of Bengali food – ghoogni, luchi and mangsho,” said Isa.
“I’m a proud father, but she gets angry very quickly,” said Barun in zest. Isa berated him.
Conversation moved towards the upcoming India-England Test series in Blighty. Isa didn’t pick a favourite but said: “It would be a fun series. A lot will depend on (Jasprit) Bumrah and (Mohammed) Shami’s fitness. I expect (Mohammed) Siraj to be successful in English conditions. England play an exciting brand of cricket. The Indian team under Gautam Gambhir, especially their batting, has been searching for an identity. It would be exciting. I expect a second wind for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.”
When Isa started playing the sport, women’s cricket was an outlier. Things have changed greatly over the years and according to the former medium pacer, the WPL is providing a big push. Does she support equal pay for men and women?
“I think pay should be determined by the number of hours and efforts put in by the players, and not on revenue generation. At the same time, you can’t ignore the commercial factors,” said Isa.
She becomes downcast at the mention of the Pahalgam terrorist attack. “I feel incredibly sad. The world needs love and peace,” she commented.
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