India’s most significant female cricket superstar Mithali Raj announced her retirement from international cricket on 8th June, following a brilliant career that spans 23 years. India’s most influential female batswoman, Mithali Raj, has ended an illustrious 23-year professional career with an announcement Wednesday to retire from international cricket, saying that the journey has been the most fulfilling. India’s legendary batswoman, Mithali Raj, has been a mainstay in Indian women’s cricket for over two decades, making over 300 appearances for her country in all three formats. A total of 10,868 runs in all three forms makes Legendary India batswoman Mithali Raj the highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket.
Indian veteran Mithali Raj led India to two fifties and one final at the World Cup, ending her distinguished career with 7,805 runs, including seven centuries, across 232 ODI matches. Long before Mithali Raj burst onto the international scene at 16 years of age and scored a hundred in her debut, Mithali was destined to become the most fantastic woman cricketer.
Another former Indian captain, Anjum Chopra, who was a member of the Indias side along with Mithali Raj on a memorable tour to England in 1999, says that even if the 16-year-old did not get the best time on her first trip to the United Kingdom, there was very little doubt in the talent. Mithali Raj has been leading India’s women’s cricket side since 2004, becoming an inspiration for a younger generation of women cricketers. There is no doubt that Mithali Raj would be a prolific run-getter had Test cricket not lost its supremacy in women’s cricket; India did not play Test cricket for eight years, starting in August 2006.
Indian veteran Mithali Raj has been fitter longer than some of her teammates were alive, and that is just how long she has served in Indian women’s cricket. Described as Indias Sachin Tendulkar of Women’s cricket by former BCCI Director-General, Match Development & Women’s cricket, Ratnakar Shetty, Mithali Raj scored 1,005 runs in Tests against England, 1,261 runs in Tests against New Zealand and 1,103 runs in Tests against Sri Lanka. India’s legendary batsman Mithali Raj retired from international cricket as the all-time leading run-scorer in one-day internationals for women, scoring 7,805 runs at an average of 50.68. During the 2017 World Cup, legendary Indian batswoman Mithali Raj overtook former England captain Charlotte Edwards as the leading run-scorer in women’s ODIs, becoming the first woman to score 6000 runs in the format.
After becoming the youngest Indian captain at age 22, Mithali Raj went on to captain India in 155 ODIs, which is also the highest total in women’s cricket. Every event taught India, as the greatest female batsman, something unique, and these past 23 years were the most fulfilling, demanding, and satisfying years of my life, she wrote.
