Mithali Raj Biography: Mithali Dorai Raj is the greatest female cricketer the world has ever seen, her longevity and statistics speaks volume for herself. Often regarded as Lady Sachin Tendulkar of Indian women cricket, there is hardly any milestone she hasn’t crossed, in fact she set new records and milestones for others to follow.
She is not only the highest run scorer across all formats, but is the only Indian women captain to have led the team in 2 World Cup finals in 2005 and 2017 respectively.
In September 2019, she announced her retirement from T20 cricket to entirely focus on World Cup 2021.
Mithali Raj Profile
- Full Name- Mithali Dorai Raj
- Age-36
- Date of Birth- 3 December 1982
- Hometown- Jodhpur, India
- Height- 5′ 4”
- Parent- Dorai Raj, Leela Raj
- ODI Debut- 1999
- Test Debut- 2001
- ICC Rankings- 1 (ODI)
- Batting Style- Right-Handed
- Bowling Style- Over bowling leg-spinners
Physical Measurement
- Height (approx.) – In centimeters- 163 cm, in meters- 1.63 m, in feet inches- 5’ 4”
- Weight (approx.) – In kilograms- 55 kg, in pounds- 121 lbs
- Figure Measurements (approx.) – 34-28-34
- Eye Color- Black
- Hair Color-Black
Mithali Raj Early life
Mithali Raj was born on 3rd December 1982 to Dorai Raj and Leela Raj in Jodhpur, India. She did her schooling from Keyes High School for Girls in Secunderabad. She then went to Kasturba Junior college for advanced studies. Many of cricket fans are unaware that she started training for cricket since childhood, she practiced with the boys in the nets.
According to a legend she was once accompanied by her elder brother Mithun to cricket coaching classes at St. John academy and she fell in love with the game. The cricket bug bit him and since then she is suffering from hysteria called cricket.
It was Jyoti Prasad, who recognized the prodigy talent of Mithali and advised her father to send Mithali to National Institute of Sports coach named Sampath Kumar. Sampath Kumar was impressed by Mithali cricket skills and announced that the girl is going to represent the country and is make the girl into a world class material.
She almost made her international debut in 1997 at the Women’s Cricket World Cup, but couldn’t make it to the final squad due to age issues. Although 2 years later, she made her international debut at the age of 16. Many call her cricket phobic, but her fist love was dancing.
Mithali Raj Personal life
Mithali Raj is a Tamilian, her father Dorai Raj was in Indian Air Force, while mother Meera Raj was a house wife. Mithali has an elder brother named Mithun Raj. Mithali Raj is still unmarried.
In 2017, Viacom motion pictures acquired the rights to make a biopic on Mithali Raj life. The shooting will start in September 2019. When asked about whom to play the lead role, Mithali said “I think it should be Priyanka Chopra, we possess so many traits as common.
Mithali Raj Professional life
She made her international debut in 1999 against Ireland at Milton Keynes and scored unbeaten 114 in the debut match. On 17th August 2002, she made her test debut against South Africa at Lucknow at the age of 19, but couldn’t do much with the bat.
It was the third test of the series, when she broke Karen Rolton’s record of highest individual score 209* and scored 214 in the match. She led India to the World Cup 2005 and lost to Australia in the finals.
After the 2013 Women’s World Cup she remained number one for almost 4 years. During the period she scored 1 hundred and 4 fifties in tests, 5 hundreds and 50 fifties in WODI and 10 fifties in T20.
In July 2017, she became the first player to score 6000 runs in WODI’s and led India to the Women’s cricket World Cup final second time in her career, but lost to England by 9 runs. In 2019 she retired from T20 cricket to focus on 2021 One Day World cup.
Awards
- Arjuna Award: 2003
- Padma Shri: 2015
- Vogue Sportsperson of the year: 2017
- BBC 100 Women list 2017
Mithali Raj Achievements
- She scored a century on her debut against Ireland in 1999, she scored 114 not out in the match.
- She is the first ever women cricketer to score 6000 runs in Women’s ODI in 2017
- She was ranked number 1 in ICC ODI rankings in 2013
- In 2005, she led the Indian cricket team to the World Cup finals, but lost to Australia in the finals. It was like history repeating itself, 2 years back Indian cricket team men’s captain Sourav Ganguly also took the team to the World Cup 2003 finals after winning 9 matches in a row, but lost to Australia in the finals.
- Mithali Raj was the highest Indian scorer (91 runs of 104 balls) at the World Cup, until Harmanpreet Kaur broke his record after scoring a century (107 off 109 balls) in the second match of the ICC World Cup 2013 against England.
- She holds the record for playing 109 consecutive WODI’s for the Indian cricket team.
- In 2017, she was placed in the ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year.
- Mithali Raj is the highest run scorer across all the formats including tests, ODI and T20. She has scored 663 runs in 10 tests that includes 1 double hundred and 4 fifties. In WODI, he has scored 6720 runs in 203 WODI that includes 7 hundreds and 52 fifties. In T20 format, she has scored 2364 runs in 89 WT20’s that includes 17 fifties.
Mithali Raj Controversy
During the 2018 Women’s World T20 she accused the coach Romesh Pawar and BCCI COA member Diana Edulji for showing biasness and not including her in the T20 semifinals. She wrote an official letter to the BCCI regarding the complaint. In response, the coach Romesh Pawar denied all the allegations and even accused her for blackmailing, not giving inputs in the team meetings, not following the team plans and batting for personal milestones.
According to the coach, she blackmailed that if she isn’t selected to play, she will hang her boots. Her 50 against Ireland in the 2018 T20 World Cup was heavily criticized as she ended playing 25 dot balls that put extra pressure on the other batters.
Her strenuous relationship with the skipper Harmanpreet Kaur also grabbed headlines in the newspapers and TV channels.
Social Media Profile
Mithali Raj Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/mithaliraj/
Mithali Raj Twitter- https://twitter.com/m_raj03
Mithali Raj Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/immithaliraj/
Mithali Raj Net worth
- Estimated Net worth- Rs.4.2 Crores
- ODI Match Fee- Rs.100, 000
- Test Match Fee-Rs.1, 50,000
- Luxury Cars –02- Rs.80, 00,000
- She owns a BMW worth 50 Lakhs and bought a new house in 2012 in Hyderabad, Telangana.
