Winter settles over Chandigarh like an empress reclaiming her kingdom. Le Corbusier-style homes warm up to the sizzle and hiss of fireplaces even as the romance of sarson and makki is rekindled. Kids in hoodies push scooters in kachnaar-pink public parks. Meanwhile, the air in a hotel suite is thick with anticipation. All await Harmanpreet Kaur, reigning empress of world cricket and pride of Punjab.
When she finally walks into the Radisson with best friend and manager Nupurr Kashyap, the security stationed outside, Harmanpreet looks serious, almost severe, silencing a room noisy with caffeinated talk just a moment earlier. I bravely present my battered copy of The Laws of Cricket; she has, after all, rewritten the rules of what can no longer be called just a “gentleman’s game”.
“Where’s this from?” she asks, twinkly eyed.
“Lord’s,” I reply.
“You can have it if you like,” I add, willing to offer my entire library if it pleases the kaptaan.
“No, no,” she smiles, signing the inner cover.
Read The Nod's cover story on the formidable captain who steered the Indian women’s cricket team to their first World Cup victory.
