NEW DELHI: India women’s pacer Kranti Gaud, who comes from a small village in Madhya Pradesh, credits her family’s sacrifices for her success.“If your family supports you, then what others say doesn’t matter because those outsiders are not supporting you anyway. I am grateful to my family for standing by me through every step because there were a lot of problems. There was always a shortage of money,” Gaud told JioStar.Gaud is determined to honour her family’s sacrifices through her performances for the Country“My mother sold her jewellery to buy me a proper cricket kit. That was a huge sacrifice. My family was doing so much for me, and that made me feel responsible. I wanted to give something back to them. I wanted to make their sacrifice count.” Gaud said she is indebted to her family forever for giving the freedom to pursue a career of her choice.“At that time, many girls were not even allowed to step out. But my parents were different. They never made me feel that I was doing something wrong. They believed in my dream,” she asserted.“It gave me the strength to keep going and keep chasing my goal. When you know your family is with you, the world outside becomes easier to ignore,” she added.Gaud’s journey to the Indian team has sparked a positive change in her village. Her success led to the opening of a cricket academy, while many parents now see sports as a viable career path for their daughters.“Because of my performances for India in the ODI World Cup (in 2025), a cricket academy has opened up in Ghuwara village, where I hail from. Many young girls are now coming there to play cricket. That is a proud moment for me,” she said.“Their parents are now trusting their daughters and believing that they can build a career in this sport. I meet these girls regularly. The World Cup win has played a huge role in this change.”
