Charlotte Edwards never had any doubts that Mithali Raj would one day break her record as the highest run-getter (all formats together) in women’s international cricket. When the Indian icon had breached the 10,000 runs mark, Charlotte was asked if Mithali would better her tally and the former England captain had promptly replied: “She will, definitely.”
Mithali had achieved the 10,000-run milestone in March this year and was 200-odd runs shy of the England great’s record. But such has been the 38-year-old’s consistency that it took her barely four months to surpass Charlotte and be the leading run-getter among women cricketers.
Mithali’s achievements don’t just end here. At present, with 7,304 runs, Mithali is the only player to have breached the 6,000-run milestone in women’s ODIs and barring her, no one else among the top 10 run-getters in the format average 50 or more.
Besides, with India beating England in the third and final ODI in Worcester on Saturday, Mithali (with 84 wins) also broke former Australia skipper Belinda Clarke’s record of most number of wins as captain in women’s ODI cricket.
Perhaps, it wouldn’t be an overstatement at all to say that the value of Mithali’s achievements is comparable to that of Sachin Tendulkar’s in men’s cricket.
“What stands out is Mithali’s work ethics, immense determination, and the intensity and seriousness with which she approaches even the practice sessions. I’ve never ever seen even a little bit of slackness in her training,” former India Women’s head coach Tushar Arothe, who has seen Mithali from close having been a part of the team’s coaching staff since 2009 in several capacities, emphasised.
With age, people tend to get wiser. But there are some who get even better at what they do as they age and Mithali does seem to be in that group.
“Yeah, I would agree Mithali has got better with age for sure and it’s very impressive to think she’s still playing as well as she used to,” Charlotte told The Telegraph.
For Mithali, though, it’s her hunger to perform that keeps her going. “The way things have gone, it wasn’t an easy journey for me. It had its trials and challenges. But I always believed that trials have a purpose,” she said during a virtual media conference after hitting an unbeaten 75 and guiding India to a four-wicket win on Saturday.
“There were times when I wanted to give up for various reasons, but something kept me going and here I am with 22 years of international cricket. My hunger for runs have never dried up.”
One may feel Mithali could call it quits after the World Cup in New Zealand next year. But going by her words, she may well be having other ideas.
“I am still very passionate to go out there, be there in the middle and win games for India. I know there is still room for improvement in terms of my batting and that’s something I’m working on.
“There are certain dimensions I would like to add to my batting,” Mithali pointed out.
However, once she quits, she still needs to be around to help the future generation, especially looking at how India’s other batswomen bungled in the recent ODIs versus England, agrees Charlotte.
“I think once Mithali decides to retire, it would be a loss to Indian cricket if she’s not used in some capacity,” Charlotte said emphatically.
Purnima Rau, another former India women’s coach, however, remains optimistic of the team getting a right substitute for Mithali once she hangs up her boots. “Of course, Mithali has shouldered the burden for so many years, but I'm sure someone will come up and fill in her shoes,” she said. “It could be Shafali (Verma), Veda (Krishnamurthy) or anyone. We just need to be a little more patient.”
Mithali herself too isn't worried about the future. She has full faith in the abilities of bowling all-rounder Sneh Rana, who indeed has been a find of this England tour, while she also backed the struggling Jemimah Rodrigues (who was promoted to No.3 in the ODI series ahead of her) to get back to her best.
“Sneh can play big shots all around and it helps to have a player who can bowl too,” Mithali said.
