Only recently India batter Mithali Raj hung up her boots after a long time in international cricket. She tweeted about her decision just hours before India’s scheduled team selection for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour. The 39-year-old, who has represented India in over 200 ODIs, remained the highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket. Nonetheless, she did have her fair share of controversies during 2018 T20 World Cup semi-final against England where she found herself on the bench. Things got ugly between her and coach Romesh Powar before BCCI stepped in.
In an interaction with India Today, she revealed how she really felt.
“When you find yourself in the middle of chaos, you can’t really think straight because you are feeling all sorts of emotions, even if you want to internalise and think from your brain and not from your heart. It would still be like you are hurting, so you will probably never have clarity if you are in chaos.”
“Take some time and get out of it and then see it as a third person to understand how better you can respond to it or is it necessary? Sometimes it is okay to be quiet. It also requires a lot of courage when you are treated unfairly… everybody knows only one side of the story and when you feel that way it is fine because, at the end of the day, I am someone who is goal oriented. I had a purpose – to play cricket at the best optimum level that I could. If I had to achieve that each time, when I get on to the field and I wanted to give my best, it is not just about my skill but it was also about my mental state of mind.”
“I had to be in the best possible space in my mind to go out there and give my best. So, for me to be in that good mental space, I had to overcome or get through that moment of hurt, anger, frustration, irritation and eventually did, because I realised my purpose was not to be involved in that moment for long. The moment had to pass, that is what sport has taught me. In cricket, when you score a hundred, the next day you again have to start from the beginning, you don’t start from hundred. Obviously, that phase did hurt me a little bit but I overcame and that is why I was able to give the performance I did in the last year and half. I was able to overcome those emotions,” said Raj.
After this incident, Powar was removed as coach and replaced by WV Raman. Later, he made a comeback in 2021.
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