Did You Know That Sachin’s Letter Got Harmanpreet A Job Long Before She Became A Sensation?

One of my best friends is an ardent player of an online game called DOTA. Although I never got to learn how to play it, I did use to find it very interesting, or at least some concepts of it. A team of 5 heroes which fights the other team of 5 has a different role for each of its players. Some are ‘hard carries’, the heroes who go and gain the significant gold advantages. And the others are ‘off laners’ who help the hard carries accomplish their goal perfectly. Although it’s a hard carry who does the main job, he can’t do it without an off laner helping him.

Every hard carry in real life has off laners who helped them reach there, just like Harmanpreet Kaur, whose off laner was none other than master blaster Sachin Tendulkar.

Harmanpreet Kaur’s unbeaten 171 against Australia has put her name in all the top headlines, but former Indian women’s captain, Diana Edulji, had spotted the potential of this all rounder way back and got her a job in Western Railway.

Image Source

 

What a lot of people don’t know is that Sachin Tendulkar had a big part to play in that. Diana Edulji, who was a retired sports officer from Western Railway, wanted Harmanpreet to join the Mumbai based team. But, because Kaur already had a good offer from Northern Railway, only a better job offer could have made her move. Diana said,

Image Source 1 Image Source 2

“I told her, ‘I will get you a higher post. She was getting a junior class in Northern Railway. I offered her a chief office superintendent post. Her application was later sent to Delhi, but was rejected by the president.”

 

After facing rejection from the president, Diana turned to Tendulkar for help. She recalled the incident saying, “I requested Sachin, who is a Member of Parliament, to write a letter to the Railway minister, forwarding the case of Harmanpreet Kaur.”

Image Source

Sachin’s letter and a little more perseverance from Diana got Harmanpreet inducted into Western Railway.

 

It’s ironic how our country worships men’s cricket and at the same time, women’s cricket team struggle for basics like a kit bag. But, Diana Edulji sees a beaming future for Indian Women’s Cricket Team. Not only did the team fly business class this time, but they also got equal daily allowance as the men’s team. Diana said,

“Last time when I traveled to England as a manager we were given £25 per day. Girls used to get packed food from the supermarket nearby, boil it and eat it. At least now things have started to change.”

 
It’s definitely a beacon of hope. I wish all the ‘hard carries’ of our team all the best for finals. 🙂

Also, always remember that behind every hard carry, there are several off laners.

Source: The Indian Express

Cover Image Source 1, 2

📣 Storypick is now on Telegram! Click here to join our channel (@storypick) and never miss another great story.