Mithali Raj had a truly nostalgic, sentimental ‘back to school’ journey on Friday. For, the Indian women’s cricket captain was given a guard of honour by the students of Keyes High School, Secunderabad, where she studied between 1986 and 1998.
The gifted cricketer signed a cricket bat to be treasured by the school and felicitated the teaching staff who helped her grow as a student and as a cricketer in her early days.
It was at Keyes High School cricket nets that Mithali first learnt the basics under the tutelage of late Sampath Kumar when she was in fifth grade and the rest is history.
Mithali, by her own confession, was filled with emotions and fond memories at the felicitation on leading India to World Cup final in England recently.
“I remember the days when my father and I used to regularly wait outside the principal’s room to seek permission to play cricket. I was the only student writing exams on Sundays because of my cricket commitments,” recalled Mithali.
“Those were the days of real struggle and testing times, especially after the demise of my coach Sampath sir. But thankfully, the school management let my father (Dorai Raj) continue coaching at the nets. I am eternally grateful to the school management for all the wonderful support it has lent to me in that crucial phase of my career,” she explained.
“It’s lovely to see the purple colour again,” she said, pointing to the school uniform of the students amid cheers. K.V. Padmini, secretary, Keyes High School, felt Mithali was a perfect embodiment of woman power who transgressed all hurdles to be a role model for youth of the country.
Mithali’s class teacher T. Praveena recounted that the little, quiet girl took time off from the academics to play cricket, but never offered it as an excuse to skip assignments.
“And we are grateful to late Bhagyalasmi amma for promoting sports in such a big way in mid-80s itself, especially among girl students,” she said.
One of the other unforgettable memories was when Sulochana, niece of the legendary cricketer late Col. C.K. Nayudu, felicitated Mithali.
