The goddess of Women’s cricket in India will not be available with her services for the country anymore. The Indian Captain, Mithali Raj has announced her announcement from international cricket. Mithali who has been serving the country for the past 23 years broke the news via social media.
In the tweet, she thanked all her supporters and sought wishes as she starts the second innings of her life. She said “Thank you for all your love & support over the years! I look forward to my 2nd innings with your blessing and support.”
Mithali made her India debut against Ireland in 1999 at the age of 16 years and 205 days. She is the game’s youngest female player ever at the international level. She has maintained her domination over women’s cricket in India since then and has witnessed everything that has happened. Mithali Raj has been awarded the Padma Shri. In 2003, she received the Arjuna Award for Cricket, and in 2021, she received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award for Cricket, India’s highest sporting accolade.
Raj has played a record 232 ODI scoring 7805 runs with 7 hundred(s) and 64 fifties against her name. In T20Is she has played a total of 89 matches scoring turbulent 2364 runs, hitting 17 half-centuries. Of the limited chances she got to play test cricket, in 12 matches she scored 699 runs with a century and 4 half-centuries to her name. These records are just hard to match.
Let’s take look at the endless list of other records held by our Indian Captain:
Longest careers (22y 259d) in Women’s One-Day Internationals
Most matches as captain (150) in Women’s One-Day Internationals
Most runs in a career (7663) in Women’s One-Day Internationals
Hundred on debut (114*) in Women’s One-Day Internationals
Most nineties in a career (5) in Women’s One-Day Internationals
Youngest player to score a hundred (16y 205d) in Women’s One-Day Internationals
Most number of fifties in a career (69) in Women’s One-Day Internationals
Most number of times fifties in consecutive innings (7) in Women’s One-Day Internationals
2nd in Most consecutive innings without a duck (74) in Women’s One-Day Internationals
5000 runs and 50 fielding dismissals record in Women’s One-Day Internationals
Most runs in an innings (by batting position) (214) in Women’s Test matches
Youngest player to score a double hundred (19y 254d) in Women’s Test matches
Most catches in an innings (3) in Women’s Test matches
Highest partnership for the seventh wicket (157) in Women’s Test matches
Mithali has made a significant contribution to the development of women’s cricket in our country. She established a space for Indian women to be visible internationally and inspired young girls to dream big by playing at the highest level and breaking records. There are not enough words that can describe the gratitude we have for our ‘Forever-Captain’. Thank you! It was our pleasure to see you play the way you did.
