Mithali era comes to an end
The 39-year-old has helped establish the base on which Indian cricket can now reach for greater heights
NEW DELHI: It was an open secret that it was coming, but it wasn’t until 2.06pm on Wednesday that Mithali Raj made her retirement from all forms of cricket official. Her decision brought the curtain down on a storied career that saw her take Indian women’s cricket from the depths of obscurity to an era where it is starting to regularly challenge for big trophies. It was a career that makes her a legend in her own right, no less in any way than the batting doyens from the men’s team, be it Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid or Sunil Gavaskar.
“I feel now is the perfect time to call curtains on my playing career as the team is in the capable hands of some very talented young players and the future of Indian Cricket is bright,” Raj, 39, said in a statement released on Twitter.
She went on to add that she will stay connected with the game. “Each time I stepped on the field, I gave my very best with the intent to help India win. I will always cherish the opportunity given to me to represent the tricolour... It was an honour to have led the team for so many years. It definitely shaped me as a person & hopefully helped shape Indian Women’s Cricket as well.
“This journey may have ended but another one beckons as I’d love to stay involved in the game I love and contribute to the growth of Women’s Cricket in India and world over.”
Raj’s greatest strength was to be able to bat regardless of what was happening around her.
India’s wasn’t always the strongest batting unit, and it perhaps still isn’t, but the righthander was often the glue holding the innings together. She often did it by employing almost-perfect technique. Power wasn’t her forte, but her feet and hands found a way to be in the right place. When she was at the crease, it all fit. It seemed effortless, but it was the fruit of a relentless drill.
Raj burst on to the scene as a 16-year-old on June 26, 1999, when she scored an unbeaten 114 on international debut. It then made her the youngest centurion in women’s cricket across all formats -- a record that still stands in ODI cricket.
That was just the beginning. Her consistency and longevity ensured that Indian women’s cricket to many meant Mithali Raj. She broke records, established new ones, and found a way to force people to pay attention. At a time when most people didn’t exactly rate the quality of women’s cricket very
Arjuna Award highly, she kept proving them wrong.
As the Indian team slowly transformed around her, Raj was the ever-present force, the class act holding one end up, giving younger batters an idol to follow. She was both the reality and the dream.
Longevity
Internationals across formats, the most in women's cricket
Padma Shri
Longest international career in women's cricket
Youngest woman cricketer to score an ODI ton
Youngest woman cricketer to score a Test double ton
Youngest woman cricketer to score a Test ton
Wisden Leading Woman Cricketer in the World
Raj played 12 Tests (a reflection
ODIS as captain, the most in women's cricket
Khel Ratna Award of not her class but rather how the format was ignored by India), 232 ODIS and 89 T20IS. Her last match for India came during the 50-over World Cup earlier this year.
Her career had been in winddown mode for a while. In T20s, she played only occasionally after the emergence of younger stars who were more in tune with the format. Tests are a rare event in the women’s game anyway, and that left her with just ODIS. At 39, she didn’t want to wait four years for another crack at the World Cup.
With her as skipper, India reached the final of two ODI World Cups, but the trophy eluded her. In the first final (2005), Australia crushed India by 98 runs. In the second (2017), India ran England close, losing a thriller by nine runs. The two matches, 12 years apart, showed how Indian cricket has grown, and by 2017, fans across the country had started to take note.
Prolific scorer
Raj’s overall tally of 10,868 runs makes her the leading runscorer in women’s international cricket, and perhaps, only now, with her walking into the sunset, will many realise what she truly meant to Indian cricket.
She has helped establish the base upon which Indian women’s cricket can now reach for great heights and it is only fair that we acknowledge her as one of the greatest cricketers India has ever produced. Not one of the greatest woman cricketers, but one of the greatest cricketers; period.