Mithali Raj: I didn't even know I was about to touch those figures

In the recently concluded ODI series, the India women's ODI captain became only the second woman in the world to aggregate 10,000 career runs. Raj looks back at the series, and the road ahead for the 2022 World Cup.

Chandigarh After a hiatus of 15 months, the Indian women's ODI team competed in an international series at home. The Mithali Raj-led team suffered a 1-4 series loss against South Africa, but for Raj herself, there were two major career milestones. The 38-year-old cricketer from Hyderabad became only the second woman cricketer in the world to complete 10,000 international runs and also the first woman to score 7,000 runs in ODIs.

Mithali Raj remained unbeaten on 79 as India were bundled out for 188 in 49.3 overs. (Twitter)

In this interview, Raj, who is hoping to lead the team to their third World Cup final at the 2022 World Cup, speaks about how she did not even know that she was close to historic career records, what went wrong in the ODI series and the roadmap ahead for a team that often goes months without matches.

Excerpts

You were playing cricket for India after almost 15 months. How did it feel to get to 10,000 runs?

A: I would have been happier if we had won the series. Nevertheless, it was great to finally play for India after such a long gap and hit the ground. It was great to see results on the field. I had worked hard on my fitness and skills in the last couple of months. As far as milestones go, I didn't even know I was about to touch those figures. But it is a great feeling to have done it for the country.

Despite some good individual performances, the series was lost.

It was good to see our batters doing well. We should not forget that we have not played ODI cricket since November 2019. We just had a four-day camp before this ODI series. With more camps and series, we will get into the match groove. Also, South Africa is a much-improved side. They beat Pakistan at home recently and had great match practice against spinners. That momentum and experience helped them.

Did the team miss Shikha Pandey's bowling acumen? Why was she left out?

I am sure the selectors also want to build bench strength for the coming tournaments, so gave chances to new faces. It's always good to pick new faces for a series at home. It's not that Shikha has been written off.

As an ODI captain would you not want someone like Shafali Verma, who played a pivotal role in taking India to the T20 World Cup final in Australia last year, in your squad?

Shafali did prove herself in the T20 World Cup last year. She is a great talent. It is not that she was not considered for the ODI team slot. But then there was Priya Punia also, who is another young talented opener. Shafali will get her chances as well in the coming months. She should do well in the T20 series against South Africa.

What is the way forward for the Indian women’s team keeping in mind the 2022 World Cup?

I have already put in a word for camps; longer camps before a series which will help the team to regroup and gel together which is very important. We should work on game sense. A lot has to be done in the bowling, fielding and for depth in the batting department. As we play more matches, we will be better prepared.

Talking of no matches, India women will be playing a Test match after a seven-year gap in England in June. Countries like Australia and England play red-ball cricket regularly.

It was great to be part of the last test match we played against South Africa in Mysore back in 2014. India had emerged victorious by an innings and 34 runs and there were eight debutants in the game. I am sure, the India-England Test will generate a lot of interest. It should definitely give a push to women’s Test cricket in India.