Wishes started to pour in big numbers as former India women’s captain Mithali Raj announced her retirement from international cricket. The greatest torch-bearer of Indian women’s cricket, Mithali Raj brought down the curtain on a 23-year long career on Wednesday.
Mithali Raj Announced Retirement From International Cricket
The career had kick-started in 1999 when Raj, on her ODI debut, struck an unbeaten century against Ireland at the age of 16 years and 205 days – still a record in women’s cricket for the youngest batter to hit an ODI century.
She represented India in 12 Tests, 232 ODIs and 89 T20Is amassing a tally of 10,868 runs making her the leading run-scorer in women’s international cricket; with 7805 runs in ODIs, she’s the highest run-getter in women’s ODIs. She notched up a record 64 half-centuries in ODI cricket, plus 21 fifties in the other two formats to go with 7 ODI hundreds and one three-figure score in Tests – 214 against England in 2002.
Thank you for all your love & support over the years!
I look forward to my 2nd innings with your blessing and support. pic.twitter.com/OkPUICcU4u— Mithali Raj (@M_Raj03) June 8, 2022
Not long after making her debut, Raj was ascended to the captaincy post. She led India to the final of the 2005 World Cup, hitting a brilliant 91 in the semi-final. 12 years later, she once again led India to the World Cup final in 2017, in England, becoming the first, and only, male or female, Indian to captain the team to two ODI World Cups finals. However, India lost both of those finals.
Wasim Jaffer Shared A Special Message
Amongst the heaps of wishes Raj received, one special one came from Wasim Jaffer. Recognising Raj’s storied, vast career, Jaffer tweeted: “Towards the end of her career, Mithali had been in form longer than some of her teammates had been alive 🙂 That’s how long she served Indian cricket. Congratulations and thank you @M_Raj03. Good luck for your second innings.”
Here, check out Wasim Jaffer’s special tweet for Mithali Raj’s iconic career:
Towards the end of her career, Mithali had been in form longer than some of her teammates had been alive 🙂 That’s how long she served Indian cricket. Congratulations and thank you @M_Raj03. Good luck for your second innings
pic.twitter.com/dQYTP8fMxd
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) June 8, 2022
Raj’s last innings for India was another half-century – 68 runs in 84 balls vs South Africa in the World Cup earlier in March, however, it wasn’t enough to win the game and India failed to reach the semis.
The 39-year-old from Rajasthan has received several civilian awards including the Arjuna award, the Padma Shri and most recently the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2021.
