'I am happy to be recognised', Ghulam Fatima reacts to viral video

KARACHI: Sometimes, there is one single moment, a single act or a single step that can change your life forever. For the Pakistan women team’s spinner Ghulam Fatima, that moment has probably arrived.

The 25-year-old bowler became a social media sensation after her magical delivery — bowling out Fareeha Mahmood during the ongoing women’s Pakistan Cup — went viral on Twitter.

The delivery spun from offside sharply to dislodge the leg-stump to send Fareeha back to the pavilion. It reminded many of Shane Warne’s famous delivery against Andrew Strauss in 2005.

Many on social media also compared both the videos highlighting the similarities between the two while praising the Pakistani spinner.

The bowler from Sialkot had no idea that her delivery would become the talk of the town.

“I didn’t know that it would be praised this way, I am very happy to be recognised and praised by many,” Ghulam Fatima said while speaking to Geo.tv.

“Shane Warne is one of my ideal bowlers along with Imran Tahir and Yasir Shah. I want to be as successful leg spinner in women’s cricket as these legends were in their careers,” she stated.

The bowler has played 3 ODIs and T20Is for Pakistan in 2017 before being dropped but she hasn’t given hope and has set her eyes on her comeback.

“Giving up is not my thing, I have always believed in hard work because I knew that hard work always pays back,” she said.

“I continue to work hard, I know my time will come and maybe this can be my time,” the young bowler said.

Replying to a question, Fatima said that she used to play with her brothers in her village and her father always supported her.

“My father used to take me to the city from my village on cycle so that I could learn cricket. I started by playing with my brothers and that’s where I first learnt how to spin the ball,” she recalled.

Sharing details about her journey, she said: “I once saw a newspaper that had published a photograph of some Indian batswoman, that’s where I first thought about women cricket and promised myself to become an international cricketer for Pakistan, and here I am.”