Net sessions before you hit the pitch

Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; August 3, 2022)

Anushka Sharma kicked off the shoot of Chakda Xpress, a biopic on former Indian women’s cricket captain Jhulan Goswami, in June in Mumbai. While the emotional scenes were shot in the first schedule, the upcoming leg in the United Kingdom will focus on the matches that made Goswami a force to reckon with, in the international arena. It is heard that Sharma will undergo a two-week training in Leeds to perfect her bowling skills before the next spell begins.

A source reveals, “Anushka had a fair amount of training earlier this year before director Prosit Roy called action on the project. But she is leaving no stone unturned to become Jhulan on screen. She will fly to Leeds in mid-August to work with her coach to pick up Jhulan’s style of bowling. The cricketer is known to be one of the fastest women bowlers, and it won’t be easy to emulate that. Anushka will train till August-end, after which Prosit will resume his place behind the camera. The second schedule will go on till September.”

The Netflix offering marks Sharma’s first movie after embracing motherhood. In tracing Goswami’s glorious journey in Indian cricket, the actor intends to highlight women’s struggles in the sport.