Top 40 Mithali Raj Quotes

The first thing my mom told me after I reached Hyderabad was that I won’t be going out on a two-wheeler.

I speak Tamil well and I am proud to be living as a Tamil. but above it all, I am very proud Indian!

From making my international debut as a 16-year-old to now 37, it has been a good 21 years of my prime life spent not at home but at the ground – different countries, hotels, grounds, coaches, travel etc. It’s been a very privileged journey.

When I made my debut I had a lot of seniors in the side, then players of my own age group, then juniors and now am rubbing shoulders with teenagers. It’s actually the fourth generation of players and a rarity for a player to achieve it.

All the people who were needed to be told about my decision were informed. 2021 World Cup would definitely be my swansong. I am looking forward to preparing for the World Cup.

Cricket is not gender biased. It isn’t that men’s cricket is different and women’s a different one.

The World Cup, as an event, carries a lot of pressure, irrespective of the number of caps you have earned, and the pressure doubles when you play at home.

I am from a south Indian Tamilian family, so all my cousins are into academics and I alone was in sports.

Tamil is my mother tongue.

As a cricketer and captain, the lowest has the 2013 World Cup as it happened in India. Being the host team, we couldn’t qualify for the Super Six and it was a big platform to do well and showcase women’s cricket.

But once you get accepted and are trained under the best coaches, these things really help boost your confidence level.

I began my journey as a captain when I was just 21-22 and leading the Indian side for so many years has helped me also grow as a person. My growth as a person pretty much has happened on the ground along with teammates.

I feel that when you are chasing 270 there’s always going to be pressure but you need the opening pair to give us a start so that the batters can take from thereon.

As a young kid in the beginning, I myself did not know that there was women’s cricket in India or that there is an Indian women’s cricket team.

There are expectations in everyone’s lives. It might be small or big, but then you cannot forget to prioritise what is important and try to focus when it is really needed.

If only a few games are televised and you don’t have a follow-up, like no live coverage of the Sri Lanka series after the Australia series, where we did so well, things will not improve.

You can’t just give up because you lose one game. India has always had the problem that when faced with the crunch matches, the team does not necessarily step up.

Unless there is branding, players will not get adequate payment. Why do we want matches to be televised? Why do we want people to turn up for our matches? That’s how you will generate revenue.

A lot of people have a different perspective on this but my personal view is that while things have become more professional with we being centrally contracted, we don’t play as regularly as the men do. The number of matches we play is too less as compared to men.

The biggest challenge I faced when I started playing in the 90s was my immediate family members were not very keen that I get into sport, leave alone cricket.

Obviously, we don’t want to go into a World Cup thinking low about the team. We are very positive and had some good practice matches, which should give us confidence.

I have captained India in two World Cup finals. I definitely want to win the World Cup before I retire.

With more sponsors coming in, media engagements happening, and matches being televised, youngsters can get carried away. In such a scenario, a mentor can step in and help in channelising the cricketers’ energies into the sport.

Sometimes, I sketch, but not every day. I sketch random things, whatever I can get my mind into. I’m not a professional, it is just a hobby I’ve started.

Let’s say something like Olympics is happening, I will definitely watch because that is something which is live after so many months. I think sports will definitely get people to watch.

Men’s cricket sets the bar. We are always trying to reach where they set the standard.

I think we are still on the lookout for a left-arm spinner who can at least be closer to what Neetu David has been for women’s cricket.

The Qualifier is a different standard to what we will face in the World Cup in England. The conditions will be different, the pressure is different, double or treble what we faced here. This will give a base for all the young players rather than go into World Cup raw.

When we talk about knowledge or tactical plans, if a woman coach has the capability, then she should surely get an opportunity to coach the Indian men’s team.

There are a lot of misconceptions that we can’t play fast bowling or we can’t bowl fast. We should have mixed matches. I have also played a lot of matches against boys because that’s how we train.

I think at some level the ICC is trying to promote the women’s game globally and that requires them to focus more on ODI and T20I cricket. They are trying to revive the game.

When you are on the field as a captain, the mind is always working. You cannot relax at any point of time. You are always focussing on what is going to be the next move, what if it doesn’t work, what if the situation changes and you have to change your plan.

We get to play every team before the World Cup, touring in different conditions besides a few series at home. It gives a lot of opportunities to the youngsters. As we play more, we get to see who a quality player is and what plans and strategies would work for the team.

But growing as an India cricketer it was about the blue jersey and the pride we all felt wearing that jersey.

If you keep winning, people will stay glued to our cricket.

My dad and some of them felt I should be playing on home soil and retire in front of the home crowd.

But as a player, you feel sad that at this level you are being singled out for the fact that I stood up for myself. I have not done anything wrong standing up for myself.

A lot of parents today come forward to encourage their daughters to take up sport because they feel women’s cricket is growing in India and they can make a profession out of it.

I love sleeping and to inculcate the habit of early rising, my dad forced me to take up a sport. That was the only reason I started playing cricket in the first place. And thereafter it continued.

Well, I think the turning point, in my opinion, has to be 2006 as in that year we came under BCCI. With that a lot of facilities were provided to us, a lot of things changed for good and better.