‘I am not the first person with whom this has happened’ – Mithali Raj on being left out for the 2018 World T20 semi-final

Mithali Raj, the veteran Indian women’s cricketer, has recalled the controversial time when she was dropped from the playing eleven before India’s semi-final match against England in the 2018 Women’s World T20. Thereafter, the enigmatic cricketer lashed out at then head coach Ramesh Powar and  COA’s Diana Edulji for showing bias.

Going down the memory lane, Raj said that she was utterly disappointed on missing out. However, as per her, such scenarios have occurred to several other cricketers. India eventually went on to lose the semi-final and got eliminated after some decent performances in the league stage. She put forth her opinions on Star Sports 1 Telugu show ‘Girl Power – Sarileru Manakevaru’.

Mithali Raj opens up

“Honestly, I was quite disappointed that I couldn’t play. But it is something that has happened with every player. I am not the first person with whom this has happened. It is about the team composition and may be captain and coach felt that they had a better player to feed in to the eleven,” Raj said.

“But I always had hopes that if we win that match, I may have the chance in final, I will be able to contribute, and we have a better chance to win the Cup. That was my intention of reaching out to the players in the huddle to pep them up, ‘give your best you, might not get such chances time and again,” she stated.

Bearing in mind Raj’s incredible numbers at the highest level, a biopic, starring Tapsee Pannu, is set to hit the cinema halls. Mithali said that she will be training the Bollywood actress some cover drives. Raj is currently the leading run-scorer in Women’s ODIs.

“She is very lively, talkative and she has the spunk. I said, ‘Give me some time, let me get comfortable, I will help you out. Acting is your profession. It will come by naturally. What you have to learn is the cover drive. People will relate your cover drive with my cover drive. So, that is something you have to work hard’,” Mithali added.

In 10 Tests, 209 ODIs and 89 T20Is, Raj has 663, 6888 and 2364 runs respectively with eight centuries and 74 half-centuries to show for her efforts.