On Wednesday, cricketing fans received a heart-warming blow as the veteran cricketer and probably India’s most renowned women cricketer, Mithali Raj announced her retirement at around 2.06pm from all formats of international cricket.
Reiterating the same, she announced it through her official Twitter handle. Bringing the curtains down on her decision, Raj received an enormous love, support and warm wishes from all angles; be it commoners, her fellow cricketers or from senior players from both international men and women category.
Mithali Raj, who turned 39 this year, wrote over her Twitter handle, “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.”
Adding furthermore, she reiterated that she would always remain connected to 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.”
She again added, “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.”
Mithali Raj has been a remarkable gift to the Women’s Indian National Cricket team as her strength lied in long-term batting, regardless of whatever score or condition India was batting in. It is an inevitable fact that Indian women’s cricket was not at its best when Mithali took over as the captain of the team, but perhaps, it is her will and determination which made the team a strong unit as it is today.
Raj’s greatest strength lies in exquisite technique and employing sweet timing with the bat; power was never her forte, yet, finding herself in the right position and timing, she turned out as perfect as she was all throughout her career. It is hence undoubtedly her relentless devotion to the game which made her one of the finest legends of the game today.
Mithali Raj was just 16 when she stepped into the cricketing field as a young and budding talent. The date of her debut was 26 June, 1999, and in the very first international match of her life, she scored an unbeaten 114. Her innings remains a spectacle till date as she became the youngest centurion in women’s cricket across all the formats; it is a record which still stands intact in ODI cricket till date.
The international hundred on her debut was just the beginning of this young budding talent; her longevity and consistency longed India into an era of women’s cricket where it stood an ideal place in the international domain.
With out bursting performances, Raj became the epicenter of broken records, later going onto establishing new ones that forged people’s interest into women’s cricket at full length. In an era dominated by male cricketing standards, Raj spurned a new charisma of her own and enhanced the quality of women’s game altogether.
Mithali Raj’s overall tally in international cricket includes a massive figure of 10,868 runs, making her the leading run-scorer in women’s international cricket domain. She remains a true legend of the game who paved a revolution into women’s intentional cricket.
She has contributed immensely to Indian cricket and has actively played a crucial role towards establishing a base for women’s game. It will only be fair that all the cricketing world acknowledge her contribution as a light among darkness; terming her as one of greatest cricketers produced by India, despite of any gender based division.
