'This was her own decision': Rajeev Shukla on Mithali's Raj retirement
Jun 08, 2022
New Delhi [India], June 8 : Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Vice-President Rajeev Shukla on Wednesday extended good wishes to Mithali Raj after she announced her retirement from all formats of international cricket.
Mithali is retiring as the leading run-scorer in the women's ODIs. She represented India in 232 matches, scoring 7805 runs at an average of 50.68. In Tests, Mithali has smashed 699 runs in 12 matches with a brilliant average of 43.68. She also has 2364 runs in 89 T20Is.
"In my view, Mithali Raj's contribution as far as Indian women's cricket is concerned is immense. You are aware that women's cricket in India was not in a good condition, two decades back and there were even financial problems. Later, BCCI decided to take it under their setup and today team India is able to face teams like Australia and England which are far more developed," Rajeev Shukla told ANI.
"Mithali Raj is the one who took Team India to its pinnacle, not just in terms of performance but also in terms of leadership. As you know that BCCI never forces anyone to take such calls so it was ultimately her own decision to retire. We would like to wish her all the best and we hope that she keeps on contributing to Indian women's cricket," he added.
Mithali, who made her debut in 2002, is regarded as the greatest Indian women's batter. She captained the side to two 50-over World Cups.
At 16, Raj scored an unbeaten 114 on her ODI debut and soon established herself as a vital clog in India's batting order. In October 2019, Raj, at 36, became the first woman to complete two decades in ODI cricket.
Mithali Raj is currently in the seventh position in the latest ICC Women's ODI batting rankings, released on Tuesday.
