Mithali Raj, the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team, is a superstar in her own right. With a record of 6,190 runs from 186 international matches at a staggering average of 51.58, she holds the distinction of being the first and only female cricketer to have gone past six thousand runs in women’s ODIs.
Her numbers in Tests is equally impressive -- 663 runs (average of 51) from 10 games with her highest score being 214.
She is the only captain (men or women) from India to lead the country in an ICC World Cup twice (2005, 2017). On Sunday, the prolific Indian batter turned 35 and a number of male and female cricketers from the past and present joined many fans in extending birthday wishes to the star cricketer.
Leading the pack of birthday wishers was none other than Sachin Tendulkar, who dubbed Mithali an inspiration for “millions of girls” across the country.
“Wishing one of India’s finest athletes a very happy birthday. @M_Raj03, you’ve already inspired millions of girls to take up sport and I’m sure will do so for many more to come. Have a great year ahead! #playitHERway (Sic).”
Suresh Raina and Mithali’s teammate Veda Krishnamurthy also joined the long list of wishers. While Raina described Raj as the most successful female cricketer, Veda shared a selfie with her skipper in the tweet.
{{/usCountry}}Suresh Raina and Mithali’s teammate Veda Krishnamurthy also joined the long list of wishers. While Raina described Raj as the most successful female cricketer, Veda shared a selfie with her skipper in the tweet.
{{/usCountry}}The BCCI also wished the ace cricketer through its official page for women’s cricket.