India captain Mithali Raj on Friday said that she did not pay heed to records after becoming the first woman in history to play 200 One-day Internationals. Mithali reached the landmark during the third ODI against New Zealand at Hamilton.
Mithali made her ODI debut against England in Milton Keynes in January 1999. The 36-year-old is also the top run-getter in the world with 6622 runs. “200 is just a number for me but it feels nice to come so far,” the ODI captain said after India registered their first series win in New Zealand.
“I have seen different stages of [transformation] women’s cricket across the globe since I made by debut way back in 1999 under IWCC [International Women’s Cricket Council]. Coming under ICC, we could see the difference. I am just happy to represent the country for so long,” Mithali said.
Mithali’s career has now completed two decades. “When I started, I didn’t think that I will come so far,” she said. “Initially, my aim was to only wear the India colours, be one of the core members of the team but never did I think that I will continue to play for so long,” Mithali added.
Mithali has had her share of ups and downs including the recent public spat between Committee of Administrators member Diana Edulji, whom she alleged was trying to finish her career along with former coach Ramesh Powar.
According to Mithali, her only endeavour has been to suit her game as per team’s needs. “When you have a long career, you have different elements and reasoning that comes into factor. But one thing has been to constantly thrive and change my game to suit different conditions, different areas of my game and trying to keep up with the international standards.
“I have seen joys, highs and lows – when you have a long career,” she said.
When asked about the areas that requires improvement in the team, Mithali sounded out a seam bowling all-rounder. “When spinners are bowling, they need more support from fast bowlers,” she said.
“Obviously, Jhulan [Goswami] is very experienced but may be we need an all-rounder in the playing XI can be useful on these tracks, so on a given day if spinners are not doing well, may be the all-rounder can do the job.”