Reported By:
| Edited By: G Krishnan |Source: DNA |Updated: Sep 07, 2019, 06:30 AM IST
In an exclusive chat, 36-year-old Mithali Raj talks to G Krishnan about her decision to quit T20Is, impact of last year’s World T20 controversy on her mind and turning her attention towards 2021 World Cup
Honestly, during the 2018 World Cup itself, I was saying T20 World Cup was going to be my last. Because of the controversy and everything, I thought I can think of another series. When we were in New Zealand, I was having a chat with WV (Raman, head coach) and I realised he was planning for T20 WC. I thought it was better to disclose to him what I was planning in this format. He is aware. Whoever he gets in the squad should be getting optimum opportunity before the World Cup. It would not be right on my part to retire just before the World Cup, leaving the team hanging. He was okay with it. I also kept the selector in the loop. It was a decision I already took in January. I thought I would announce my retirement from T20s after playing the three games in New Zealand.
My dad and some of them felt I should be playing on home soil and retire in front of the home crowd. That is why I chose the England home series in March this year. I knew very well when I played the England T20s that was my last. But I also wanted to deal with the decision I took. I did not get much time after that because we had a domestic tournament, the IPL exhibition games and one-month camp. Everything was back to back. I was quite busy. That is why I took time to officially announce. If I am going to make it official, I would would go to the BCCI as I am contracted player and it is the right thing to go to the board first. This had to happen. It had nothing to do with anybody, I was not under any pressure from anyone. It was completely my choice and was taken much much more. Personally, I needed to take time out to deal with the bitterness which I had and I dealt with. And, now I am in a very happy space.
It was bitter-sweet. Of course, after the World Cup, I was hurting. I will not deny it. But then, yes, getting some purpose, getting my bearings right by focussing on what is next for me. There is still one-and-a-half years left for one-day World Cup. I thought I should give it my best shot. I am a player who strongly believes in preparation and this will give me enough time to prepare.
I can only say that, in hindsight, it only made me stronger. The controversy had more to do off the field that on it. Yes, when there is conspiracy, there is always two sides to it. There will always be people who will criticise you without knowing the facts. Of course, a lot of things was out of context. It was difficult, as a player I could not come out with my side of the story as I was bound by contract. Being quiet, going through everything is the most difficult thing to do. But, I had the right kind of people around me who helped me keep my bearings right and helped me get through that phase. I am grateful I could come out of it and find a new purpose. I honestly did not expect so many people to rally for me, so many people to stand up for me. I am just grateful I could find so many of them who still believed in me.
I would say my T20 career has been decent, from playing the first T20 game in 2006 to this year. I have grown as a player along with the format, along with the team. Even though I am someone who played one-dayers more, I have equally prepared hard for the T20 format too. There have been times when I have played in the middle-order, then I started to open. I have scored more runs as an opener than in the middle-order. It really helped me. I have done a decent job. The role that was assigned to me was to hold one end up, give stability to players to score runs at the other end. I have done decently well in this format.
The games I was able to win for India. The one series that gave me a lot of satisfaction was the T20I series in Australia when we won 2-1 in 2016 with me as the captain. That was one series where we got a lot of players understanding what they were capable of performing. After that, a few of the players were being invited to leagues (in England and Australia). That was one of the good series that the team can look back with happiness.
I don't regret not playing those leagues. Obviously, the current generation is in a phase where it is part of the women's sport growth. The leagues are already there. The leagues came in the later stages of my career. I don't regret not playing these leagues. These leagues would have helped younger players gain more experience and exposure than someone like me who has been playing for a long time. Probably, I would only look at it for earning money.
Other than that, at this stage of my career, what do you expect me to play league for? I would rather look at someone young like Deepti Sharma get that opportunity. It would do her a world of good. And going further, T20s and One-dayers are the format. The sport is heavily relying on these two formats for women's sport to grow around the globe.
The current generation is fearless. Every generation has advantages. That is why you use the term 'evolve'. When we started, we did not have the kind of resources that the team currently enjoys. Unfortunately, I don't have videos of my early batting, the world record, the 2005 World Cup. They were just memories for us. We didn't have technology that could have helped us grow as players. Nor did we have proper trainers to emphasise on fitness.
For us, the growth was pretty much later in our careers. When a youngster like Jemimah comes, she has access to facilities we had to struggle to get being India players. For us, the challenge was to play for five days on turf and you straightaway play an international game. But today, a youngster is actually training on turf. There is hardly anyone who practices on matting pitches. Probably my generation played a lot of matches on matting and turf was for the privileged ones. And then, today you have a video analyst who gives A to Z of your game, A-Z of your opponents. We relied on our own experience, our own knowledge to trap the opponents and work on our own things.
These things are but natural to benefit the coming generation or the current generation. That is why it is becoming more competitive also.
Obviously, you know there are players who are talented and getting the right kind of exposure and opportunity. Women's cricket will not suffer. At one point, they felt it will be a slow death for women's cricket. Now, I see that with players like Jemimah or for that matter Shafali (Verma), I am really impressed with the kid, they are the ones who will continue to take women's cricket forward. You know there are young girls who are capable of taking it ahead.
I think it will take a while. We are really focussing on the bench strength. ICC coming up with under-19 World Cup for girls, it is a great move. It will give some purpose to the girls and their parents and coaches to look up to a World Cup like the boys have. The U-19 World Cup reveals to you the talent and the future stars. By getting this into the fold, they are structuring U-19 matches, trying to schedule India 'A' games so that we can work on another set of players. Given that kind of exposure in a year or two, they will also progress into better players. Then the ratio of good players will improve and that will naturally benefit the standard of cricket women players will display when they play in leagues. That will attract more people to come and watch or put their girls into the sport.
Every sport needs a platform like television where visibility is more, where it reaches out to more people. Today, everybody is glued to social media. The more you are there as a player on these platforms, the more the sport is televised on these platforms, it naturally attracts more kids. I am very happy after the 2017 World Cup, you see a lot of parents showing interest. It is just not restricted to summer camps. They are ready to invest their girls in cricket beyond the summer camps.
It is both. It is easy in a way I get more time to prepare. Also a little difficult in a way you don't have much of match practice. If it was T20, you know you some matches before the one-dayers start. Now, you might not have the cushion of those innings. It works both ways. If I keep my fitness levels, if I maintain my form, I should get through.
It depends. I will get more time to find more good facilities that can help. I already have a personal trainer who works on my fitness and find access to kind of academies or facilities. At one point, Andhra Cricket Association was a great help to me. They have a really good performance academy in Vijayawada. Before the 2017 World Cup, I was very much there working hard. I would like to use such facilities.
Well, in today's time, you can't be very predictable. You have to keep working on things, you always have one trait that the opponent doesn't know. This one-and-a-half years, I am going to invest on improving my skills.
It is something I have already started because I feel it is my responsibility to see that if I want the team to get stronger, I pass on my experience to the younger lot. That helps them to grow as players and help me also on the field.
Mithali in T20Is |
|---|
| Mts: 89 |
| Inns: 84 |
| Runs: 2,364 |
| NOs: 21 |
| HS: 97* |
| Ave: 37.52 |
| 50s: 17 |
17 No. of fifties Mithali Raj has scored in T20Is, the third most after Suzie Bates (NZ, 22) and Stefanie Taylor (WI, 21)
Mithali Raj is the sixth highest scorer in Women’s T20Is with 2,364 runs. There is no Indian above her in the list, which is led by Suzie Bates of New Zealand (3,100 runs in 111 matches)
