'Past is gone, we will steer the ship together' - Mithali Raj on working with Ramesh Powar yet again

India’s ODI and Test captain Mithali Raj has been with the team since 1999. The leadership role came to her in 2003 and since then she has led the team admirably guiding the youngsters and working with seniors. During her 20-year long career, Mithali has seen a lot of ups and downs in her glorious cricketing journey. The highs of being runners-up in the 2005 and 2017 World Cup and the lows of India’s 2018 exit in the ICC T20 World Cup.

During the 2018 T20 World Cup semi-final match, the 36-year-old veteran was dropped from the team against England which India went onto lose. The match is remembered for the Mithali and Ramesh Powar spat which turned ugly when the two wrote individual letters to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials about what happened between the two. Few months went by, and Powar lost his job to WV Raman.

Two years later the tide has turned and Powar is again back as the head coach and Mithali stated that she is looking forward to working with him ahead of India’s tour to England.

“The past is gone by. You cannot go back. I am sure he (Ramesh Powar) will come up with plans and we together will steer the ship,” Mithali told The Hindu. “We will work in tandem and build a very strong team for the future, especially with the World Cup scheduled next year.”

Mithali Raj is looking forward to the England series

India will start their all-format England tour on June 16 with a Test match, a format which they last featured in 2014 against the same opponents in Wormsely. Mithali loves the purest format and is excited to play after seven years.

“For all the youngsters in the team, and even for someone like me who played a Test match seven years ago, there is no baggage to carry. We have not played the format for such a long time and hence can play with an open mind,” said Mithali.

After their tour of England, India will travel Down Under to play a pink-ball Test against Australia. Mithali stressed that the women’s team should get to play more Test matches going forward.

“It is good to see that this Test will be followed by a pink-ball Test in Australia later this year. My personal opinion is that we should have continuity in playing Test matches.”