NEW DELHI, June 8: Mithali Raj, the captain of India women’s test and ODI cricket teams, on Wednesday announced her retirement from all formats of international cricket. “I feel now is the perfect time to call curtains on my playing career as the team is in capable hands of some very talented young players and the future of Indian Cricket is bright,” Raj said in a statement on Twitter.
Raj is regarded as one of the top Indian players of the sport. She made her international debut in 1999 and has played prolific cricket across all formats. In March 2021, she became the first Indian woman cricketer and second internationally to complete 10,000 runs across all formats.
Earlier this year, she led the Indian squad at the ODI World Cup in New Zealand. The team missed out on qualifying for the semi-finals by just one point. In the 2017 edition of the Women’s World Cup, the team lost to England in the final by nine runs and finished second in the competition.
The cricketer also mentioned that she looks forward to her “second innings” but did not divulge further details. Bollywood actor Taapsee Pannu will be seen portraying Mithali Raj in Shabaash Mithu, a biopic based on the cricketer. The movie is set to be released next month.
(Manas Dasgupta)