Former India batter Mithali Raj recently retired from all forms of the game after slamming more than seven thousand runs in international cricket. This was an achievement in itself from this lady who had made her debut even before the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma came onto the scene.
The highest run-getter in Women’s ODIs (7,805) as well the player who has captained in most Women’s World Cup matches (28), Mithali is undoubtedly one of the all-time greats in women’s cricket. She also held the record for the highest individual score in Women’s Test for 19 months – 214 against England in 2002.
Now one can certainly think what would be her next bog goal since she has hung up her boots. Will she go into commentary or write a book?
“I don’t know. I have not given it a serious thought. Commentary offers came along even when I was an active player. Administration is something I am keen on. Being in the fraternity for long, I understand what the team requires, what the players want. I can use my experience there. Mentoring is another option. Let’s see what opens up for me. Right now, I am taking some time off. I want to get off the pedestal of a player, which is important when you get into another role,” she told News 18 Cricketnext.
She further revealed that despite scoring so many runs with her bat she is not yet possessive about them. Quite contrasting to some of her men counterpart who keep their bats with themselves or auction it off for some charity. Mithali, on the other hand, gives it to youngsters in women’s circuit.
“I have already started to distribute most of them. I am not much into keeping things. Maybe a few bats I keep with me, the bat with which I scored 214 in a Test, the bat with which I reached 6,000 ODI runs. I am someone who gives away things. I am not much attached to my bats. I have gone through phases where I have played with one bat for one year. If anyone is in need of a bat, why not help them? Some youngsters say, ‘Didi, I scored runs with your bat’. I say, ‘bat is the same, your game is good’. They feel there is some magic in the bat.”
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