When Mithali Raj was once asked by a journalist who is your favorite male cricketer, instead of answering him, Mithali asked him if he had ever asked a male cricketer who his favorite female cricketer was. This single sentence of Mithali Raj shows his whole personality. Mithali, who is retiring from international cricket this week, is not only the highest run scorer in the world but also one of the pioneers in giving a new identity to women’s cricket in the male dominated sport. In her career spanning more than two decades, Mithali Raj has emerged as a powerful voice for women’s cricket and an inspiration for many generations. In taking women’s cricket to the heights of popularity in India, if one wants to name a single player, she has achieved the feat of Mithali Raj in cricket.
If we take a look at how rich Mithali Raj’s career has been, his 23-year career, 333 international matches and 10,868 runs speak of his golden journey. In men’s cricket, Sachin Tendulkar played international cricket for 24 years, while in women’s cricket, Mithali spent almost the same amount of time. Their influence on the game more than the statistics of both makes them special.
Like Tendulkar, Mithali made a name for herself internationally and took Indian cricket to new heights. As Mithali’s father Durai Raj was serving in the Air Force, the daughter inherited things like discipline. Mithali, who used to go to the Jones Cricket Academy in Secunderabad with her brother and father, would do her homework at the boundary and play cricket with her bat if she wanted to. Mithali, who was only learning Bharatanatyam, climbed on the coach’s eyes and then grabbed a bat in her hand wearing a cricket pad. Born into a Tamil family, Mithali started learning Bharatanatyam in the third standard.
His mature technique, classic shots and sleek footwork are often talked about. So for her, the love and study of classical dance in her childhood can be said to have played an important role somewhere in it. In ‘Free Hit: The Story of Women’s Cricket in India’, author Suprita Das talks about how Mithali could have benefited from batting first as she was the only girl in the coaching camp. Arriving at the ground at 5 in the morning for practice, Mithali used to play cricket till 8 in the morning and go to school at 8:30 in the morning.
After returning from school, she practiced again and for hours. Despite practicing for hours, her grades in school never dropped and she never left any work unfinished. At a time when fellow boys and girls were busy studying, partying, traveling, Mithali was sweating in the field. In his childhood and teenage memories, there were no cinematic items, make-up, romantic novels, etc., only ground, dust, bats, sweat and a 22 yard pitch were important to him. There will be records that he has not touched. Mithali has set many such records in women’s cricket, ranging from an average of over 50 runs in ODI cricket to a record 7,805 runs for seven consecutive half-centuries.
Her record is also special because she made her debut in women’s cricket at a time when it was ridiculous for a girl to play cricket in this country of men’s cricket. Mithali has lived her life from second class railway to business class aircraft and it was such a passion that she waited for the situation to change and kept trying. The BCCI took over women’s cricket under its umbrella in 2006 but the central contracts of women cricketers were signed in 2016. Under Mithali’s captaincy, the Indian team reached the final of the 2017 World Cup but lost by nine runs to England at Lord’s and Mithali’s desire to win the World Cup remained unfulfilled.
Mithali has been playing cricket since the age of 10
Mithali was born into a Tamil family in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Mithali started playing cricket at the age of 10 and after 7 years she became a part of the Indian team. He scored a century against Ireland in his first one-day international. It was 1999 when Mithali played an unbeaten 114 against Ireland.
As a child he loved to be a classical dancer
Mithali Raj wanted to be a Bharat Natyam dancer as a child, but her father, who was an officer in the Air Force, encouraged her to play cricket. Then slowly it started moving in this direction. He also enjoys reading books. During matches he is often seen reading a book in the dugout or pavilion.
Mithali’s greatness shows her record
Mithali has played 220 ODIs in her career. He has scored 7391 runs at an average of 51.32 with the help of 7 centuries and 59 half centuries. Apart from this he has scored 699 runs in 12 Tests with the help of 1 century and 4 half centuries at an average of 43.68. Mithali’s performance in T20 International matches has been the best. In 89 international T20 matches, Mithali has scored 2364 runs at an average of 37.
The only Indian captain to lead two World Cup finals
In men’s dominated cricket, Mithali is the only Indian captain (male or female) to have led the team in two separate ODI World Cup finals (2005 and 2017).
Mithali has received two major honors
He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2003 and the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award, in 2015.
The only Indian to hit a double century in a Test
Mithali’s highest score of 214 in Test cricket. She is the only Indian woman cricketer to score a double century in a Test. Overall, she is the seventh woman to do so.
One day debut and century at the age of 16
He made his ODI debut against Ireland at just 16 years and 250 days old. Here he played an innings of 114 runs. She became the youngest player to hit a century.
