Want to try one last time: Mithali Raj reveals goal before retiring

Mithali had had earlier stated that she wants the 2021 World Cup to be her swansong.

India batter Mithali Raj has said she wants to give one final shot at achieving World Cup glory before calling time once and for all. Raj, who led India to the final of the two ICC Women’s World Cup – in 2005 and 2017 – will be gunning for glory in New Zealand in February-March next year, and the 36-year-old has channelled her entire energy focus and on ODIs after announcing her retirement from T20 cricket in September last year.

Mithali Raj carves one through the offside during the 2017 Women’s World Cup. (Getty Images)

Mithali had had earlier stated that she wants the 2021 World Cup to be her swansong, which s why she remains fiercely determined.

“I am looking forward to 2021 World Cup (50 over). Want to try one last time to bring the World Cup trophy to India in 2021. I need to keep myself motivated for 2021. I just want people to continue to support women’s cricket,” she told Sanjay Manjrekar on the ESPNcricinfo Videocast.

The Indian women’s cricket team has come strikingly close to winning a World Cup thrice in the last three ICC events, only never to have gone the distance. They lost to England in the final at Lord’s in 2017 before being eliminated by them again in the semifinal of the Women’s World T20 the next year. The women’s team made it to the final of the T20 World Cup again earlier this year, but were outplayed in the final by hosts Australia. In all three defeats, the team has shown a similar weakness, failing to cope with the pressure of a big match.

“When it comes to the final, there are nerves. Both the final, the first steps we put were very shaky. In 2017 final, we lost the first wicket in the second over. In, 2020 T20 World Cup final, Deepthi (Sharma) was given the first over, she bowled a couple of full-tosses,” Raj pointed out.

Another reason why Mithali opted to give undivided attention to ODIs is because perhaps she never was the biggest hitter of the ball. The leading run-scorer in women’s ODI cricket, Mithali has always been the conventional batter. The tag of slow batting is something she couldn’t do much about due to the situations she faced early in her career as part of the Indian women’s team.

“When I started, I was an opener. In my second series, the 2000 World Cup, I batted No. 3 and the strike rate was good at that time because I did not have the burden of carrying the team around me. But after that from being someone who could score 50 off 40 balls, I became someone who would start slowly,” she said.

“No matter whichever level I played, it has always been like that because the team’s plan was that. I can’t deviate from that plan because the team wanted me to play in that way. With that kind of approach, I started scoring more runs. My role has been that for a long time. I think I was chained to a certain kind of role throughout my career.”