Indian women’s cricket team’s captain, Mithali Raj, on Wednesday (June 8) announced her retirement from all forms of international cricket. One of the longest-serving cricketers in the history of the game, Mithali had made her debut in 1999 and played her final game for Team India at the 2022 Women’s World Cup. Mithali had retired from T20I cricket in 2019.
A batting icon, Mithali played two 50-over World Cup finals. Though an ICC trophy continued to elude her and she ended up on the losing side in both the finals. Despite that, she remains the greatest women cricketer to have ever played for India and to celebrate her career, here we have a look at Mithali’s records that make her the greatest of all time –
Most capped ODI player
Mithali ends her career as the most capped ODI player. The former national captain had made her India debut in an ODI against Ireland (in 1999) as a 16-year-old and she donned 232 caps in 22 years. The right-handed batter scored a century on her debut. Following Mithali on the list is Jhulan Goswami, who hasn’t retired from ODI cricket. No other female cricketer has donned more than 200 ODI caps.
Most runs in ODIs
Apart from playing most matches, Mithali also scored the most runs in the 50-over format. In fact, she is the only female cricketer to score more than 7500 runs. The India legend scored 7805 runs at a solid average of 50.68. Her tally includes 7 tons and 64 half-centuries. Following Mithali is Charlotte Edwards, who finished her career with 5992 runs.
Playing six World Cups
Mithali is the only female cricketer in the history of the game to play six 50-over World Cups. She played every WC after her debut in 1999 and created history when she took part in the first game of this year’s WC against Pakistan on March 6. She captained the Women in Blue into 2 WC finals but lost on both occasions. India’s success in the 2017 WC saw the popularity of women’s cricket skyrocket and the BCCI staged a women’s T20 exhibition match next year.
Mithali also holds the record of playing most matches as the captain in ODIs. The future ICC Hall of Famer captained India in 155 matches. Under her captaincy, India won 89 and lost 63 matches. Only Edwards and Belinda Clark captained their respective teams in more than 100 matches.
