Mithali Raj announces retirement from T20 International cricket
Former India women’s captain and veteran batsman Mithali Raj on Tuesday announced her retirement from T20I cricket.
With 2364 runs in 89 T20Is and an average of 37.52, Mithali is the leading woman run-scorer for India in the shortest format. She also became the first captain of the T20I team back in 2006, the same year she made her T20I debut against England. Mithali led India in 32 T20Is, including three Women’s T20 World Cups in 2012, 2014 and 2016.
Incidentally, her last T20I appearance came against England at Guwahati in March this year, where she finished with an unbeaten 32 off 30 balls. She is the world’s sixth-highest run-getter in T20I cricket and the only Indian woman to score more than 2000 runs.
“After representing India in T20 internationals since 2006, I wish to retire from T20Is to focus my energies on readying myself for the 2021 One Day World Cup,” she said.
“It remains my dream to win a World Cup for my country and I want to give it my best. I thank the BCCI for their continuous support and wish the Indian T20 team good luck as they prepare for the home series against South Africa Women.”
One of the best women cricketers in the business, the 36-year-old has earned several laurels for India across all three formats of the game, especially in ODIs and T20Is. Plying her trade for Railways in domestic cricket, Raj went to play alongside greats like Anjum Chopra, Purnima Rau and Anju Jain at Air India. At a young age of 19, she displayed her tremendous potential by scoring a double hundred in a Test match against England at Taunton. In 1999, she also became the youngest ODI centurion for India with a fiery 114 on debut against Ireland.
#MithaliRaj retires from T20Is, joining Jhulan Goswami as an ODI specialist. She’s made immense contributions, possesses mind boggling numbers, and deserves all the acclaim.
Thank you, @M_Raj03!
I have no doubt we’ll see her in the 2021 ODI World Cup.
— Snehal Pradhan (@SnehalPradhan) September 3, 2019
