WPL Auction: Richa Ghosh’s father plans to buy her a flat near Eden Gardens with bid money

Before the Women’s Premier League auction, the official broadcaster showed a video of Richa Ghosh, where she revealed her dream of owning a flat in Kolkata for her family and said she didn’t want her father to work anymore. A few hours later, she was snapped up the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the auction for Rs 1.9 crore.
“I can’t describe my feelings with words. There’s too many emotions inside my mind right now. That kid has suffered a lot, right from a very young age and I somehow feel responsible for it also,” Manabendra Ghosh told The Indian Express from Siliguri.
Manabendra still remembers how he used to travel from Siliguri to Kolkata, a dance of 600 km, on a train, and would look for cheaper hotels so that his daughter could train.

Attacking ✅Finisher ✅She is a Keeper, literally 😍🔥
Welcome to RCB, Richa Ghosh! 🤩#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #WPL2023 #WPLAuction #NowARoyalChallenger pic.twitter.com/M76oxuKP2Z
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) February 13, 2023
“Money was an issue. I didn’t know anyone in Kolkata, so I used to look for cheaper hotels where we would stay. Our daily routine was to leave the hotel at 7 am and come back in the evening. The ground was our home in Kolkata,” said Ghosh.
“We will not leave Siliguri, but now with the money, I would get her a flat in Kolkata so that she could stay there and practice,” he added.
“In 2013, I took out a loan to get her a bat before her U-19 trials. She couldn’t make it that year but a year later at the age of 12, she made her U-19 debut. From there on, she never looked back and played for the U-23 side the same season. A year later at the age of 13, she played for the senior Bengal team,” said Ghosh.
What defines Richa is her competitiveness, and her never-give-up attitude.
“She would always compete with me. She, in fact, wanted to beat me all the time. In cricket, she would try to do better than me. Maturity comes very naturally to her. Sometimes she will give life advice too. That amazes me,” he said.
On Sunday, Richa’s brisk 31 not out from 20 balls helped India win its opening game against Pakan.
“Her power-hitting also developed while competing with me. We’d always have those friendly fights to prove who is a more powerful hitter. Probably, that’s where she picked up a liking towards those big shots. It just came naturally to her,” he said.
Richa’s coach Shib Shankar Paul claims his ward is the cleanest hitter in India, and she is just getting started.
“Richa can hit sixes at will. She can just stand and hit it out of the park. Her strength is very natural. In my first interactions with Richa, all she ever wanted to do was hit the big shots. Every ball she faced. She could do it all day if you let her have a go at it,” said Paul, a former Bengal and India A medium pacer.
“At present, she is one of the cleanest strikers in this Indian cricket team. She will only get better with age and in the coming years, you will see a great finisher,” he added.