HYDERABAD: India’s ODI captain
Mithali Raj, who started her international career at the tender age of 16, is the first woman player to complete two decades in international cricket. At 37, the Hyderabadi says she never planned her career and hence the retirement too will happen in the course of time. The star player said that thoughts of quitting the game had come to her mind on a few occasions but something always stopped her from taking that decision.
Excerpts:Secret of longevity: Honestly, I never planned my career just like I don’t plan my innings. Of course, I play according to the situation and so I kind of know something but my career was different. There were times that I was almost on the verge of giving up and taking a retirement. There were a few occasions where I thought that I should call it quits but always there was something that stopped me from doing that. I just went with the flow as and when things happened and played series after series. If I actually had to plan my career, 21 years is a long time to do it. To follow a habit for 21 years is a big thing. I just felt that if I have to play international cricket then I have to be at my optimum best and that is something that I have always believed in and also in consistency. No matter which phase of my career, every game has mattered to me. When walking into bat, I have always looked to perform well.
Motivating factor: I think the World Cup. That’s one thing that has been eluding me thus far and so this time I want to give it a really good shot. The team is shaping really well as it has done well in the One-day format and the T20s too. The overall shape of the team is very good and, considering that, I definitely think we do have a chance in the coming World Cup. Yet everything will depend on a lot of other factors – build up, the kind of preparation and the series we get to play before the World Cup. Whether the World Cup will happen or not is also such a big question now. No one knows and things are quite uncertain. The World Cup has been one big motivating factor for me apart from playing for India and winning every match. But a World Cup triumph is something big for me.
Lockdown phase: It’s been a tough phase but being optimistic I see it as a time where I actually got to fine tune my training session. When someone has played for so many years one cannot forget the basics and maybe it will take a few days to get into the groove. Before the lockdown, I had to keep going on as there was no way I could take a few days off training etc. This phase has given me the kind of time I wouldn’t get otherwise and help me get to know my body better – work on the smaller muscles etc. I tried to create an advantage for myself in the lockdown by thinking in this manner.
Domestic cricket: I think the kind of domestic structure we have right now is good as we get to play more matches now than 4-5 years ago. We also have U-19, U-23 tournaments and the
BCCI is making efforts to increase the number of games. Last year, we had the Emerging Series and India ‘A’ tours. This will definitely help in strengthening the bench. All these years, we struggled as there were no back up for injured players. But now youngsters can fill in as they are already touring and getting experience and that really helps.
Retirement plans: I don’t plan anything. Right now my focus is on the World Cup and doing well in it is my goal. After that maybe play a few series but I don’t know what exactly. I wake up every morning with the aim of playing my best and that is something which helps me to get through the day.