Pakistan bowler Sana Mir talks about fulfilling dream of taking Mithali Raj's wicket

Pakistan’s Sana Mir had recently announced her retirement from international cricket, bringing curtains on a 15-year-long successful career. The 34-year-old played 226 internationals, including 137 as captain, from 2009 to 2017.

In a video by Pakistan sports presenter Zainab Abbas, Mir spoke about her idol Waqar Younis and how she learned bowling after watching his game. Mir said, "My idol for fast bowling was Waqar Younus. I loved their run-ups and inswinging yorkers. The way he used to make batsmen bowled, I also dreamt that I should make batsmen bowled the same way".

Mir added that she had a dream of taking the prized wicket of India's ODI captain Mithali Raj. Mir said that when she was new to international cricket, she had heard a lot about Mithali's game and had thought that she would dismiss Mithali from her yorker. She added that when he played against India for the first time, she had fulfilled his dream.

"I remember that my senior players used to tell me about Mithali Raj, who was the world's number one batsman at that point. I used to think that I just have to take her first wicket. She has to be bowled on the yorker. My debut match was against Sri Lanka, where I bowled for four overs, but did not get any wickets. Then my next match was against India and I dismissed Mithali Raj on the yorker. So in that sense, you can say that my dream has come true. "

Mir soon posted the video of the same on his Twitter handle and captioned it saying, "Mithali Raj is still the toughest and most valuable wicket. Waqar Younis brother is still inspiration".

The Indian skipper soon replied on Mir's tweet and said she was a great player. "Sana, you are a bright star. Be a very competitive opponent. And be a great ambassador for this game".

July 13, 2020

While announcing her retirement, Mir had said in a statement: “Last few months have provided me with an opportunity to contemplate. I feel it is the right time for me to move on. I believe I have contributed to the best of my ability for my country and the sport.”

Mir is Pakistan’s third-highest run-scorer in ODIs - 1,630 runs - and is among a select group of players to have the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in ODIs. She also has the rare achievement of having played 100 T20Is.