Bengal SIR: Former India women’s cricketer Jhulan Goswami summoned

Former India women’s cricket team captain Jhulan Goswami has been summoned for a hearing under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, along with her two siblings, following a discrepancy in the recording of their father’s name, an official said on Friday.

According to officials, their father’s name appears as “Nishith Ranjan Goswami” in some documents, while others list it as “Nishith Goswami”, prompting the notice under the SIR exercise.

The hearing was scheduled for 27 January. While Goswami was not required to appear in person and resolved the issue remotely from her residence, her two siblings attended the hearing at a local school, the official added.

Goswami, one of India’s most decorated fast bowlers, represented the country in 12 Test matches, 204 One-Day Internationals and 68 T20 Internationals during a career spanning nearly two decades.

The episode triggered sharp political reactions, with the Trinamool Congress accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of targeting a national sports icon under the revision process. In a post on X, the TMC recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had praised Goswami in 2017 as “India’s pride”.

“The same icon is now being dragged to prove whether she is even Indian over a petty discrepancy in her father’s name,” the party said.

The TMC further alleged political vendetta, accusing the BJP of exploiting sporting icons for public relations while subjecting them to “humiliation, suspicion, and state-sponsored indignity”. It added that “a party that doubts Jhulan Goswami’s citizenship has forfeited all moral authority”.

With PTI inputs