Indian women’s cricket captain Mithali Raj says that next month’s ODI World Cup in England will, for all practical purposes, be her last.
“I don’t think it is practical of me to think of playing in another World Cup after leading India in England.
“I don’t want to entertain huge expectations next month but hope to have a significant and special World Cup,” the 34-year-old told The Hindu on Wednesday after returning from the Quadrangular Series triumph in South Africa.
An epitome of class and consistency for 18 years now — from scoring a century on ODI debut against Ireland in June 1999 to producing a match-winning half-century in the last ODI against South Africa which helped the team win the Quadrangular title — Mithali said there were lots of positives on the recent South African tour.
Delighted with openers
“It was a wonderful team effort with the most pleasing part being the way the openers gave us the kind of starts we were looking for.
“The world record stand between Deepti Sharma and Poonam Raut (320 against Ireland) made them believe... they will be much better players in terms of the confidence they got from that stunning effort,” she explained.
Mithali, who will be playing in her fifth World Cup next month, said she was impressed with how the players responded on the South African tracks, given the fact that only she and Jhulan Goswami had played there before. (2005 World Cup).
“Almost the entire team adapted well to the playing conditions which was totally different from what we’ll get in England for the World Cup. But it was a perfect tour in terms of making a critical assessment ahead of such an important event,” remarked Mithali, who has 5,781 runs from 177 ODIs with five centuries and 46 half-centuries.
“It was a wonderful experience as a captain to witness two world records during the tour.
“Although Jhulan’s record was on the cards (she became the highest wicket-taker in women’s ODIs), no one expected the openers to bat their way to a world record,” the Indian skipper said.
“I still believe that I have to stay in the middle and play long to give confidence to the other members. I am still enjoying my game. Like wine, even I am getting better as I get older,” said Mithali with a smile.
Asked how the team would prepare for the World Cup, Mithali said, “We will have a camp in Mumbai from June 5. The focus will be on improving all aspects of the game but the emphasis will be on mental toughness.”
Bigger challenge
“Qualifiers and the Quadrangular Series are different as the World Cup is a bigger platform and the challenge will be much bigger.
“I still believe the girls sometimes give up in high pressure situations. They need to stand up in crunch situations and for that you need to be mentally tough,” Mithali, arguably India’s best-ever women’s cricketer, concluded.
