Mithali Raj Biography

Clouds could not hide the glory of the Sun,
Storms could not hinder the courage of a Woman.

Mithali Dorai Raj is the captain and the skipper of Indian Women’s International Cricket team in Tests and ODI. The Indian Women’s Cricket team performed brilliantly in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017.

Born in Jodhpur on December 3rd 1982 to Dorai Raj and Leela Raj she started to play the game at a tender age of 10. She is lauded with the title of being the only female cricketer who has surpassed the 6,000 run mark in ODIs.

Currently, she lives in Hyderabad, Telanagana. Mithali is the first captain to lead India to ICC ODI World Cup final twice – 2005 and 2017. She is the highest run scorer in Women’s International Cricket. From 186 ODIs in her career, she has amassed 6190 runs.

She is the first player to score 7 consecutive 50s in ODIs. The recipient of the prestigious Arjuna Award and Padma Shri, Mithali Raj is an all-rounder who is right-handed batswoman as well as right arm leg break bowler.

Family Background

Mithali was born on 3 December 1982 in Jodhpur to Dorai Raj and Leela Raj. She was born to a Tamil family. Her family includes her father, Dorai Raj who was an officer in the Indian Air Force, her mother Leela Raj a housewife and her brother Mithun Raj.

Mithali was passionate about cricket and classical dance since her childhood.

She has practiced classical dance for eight years but gave it up for her career in cricket. It was a difficult decision for Mithali to make since women’s cricket was an amateur game two decades ago.

Mithali was selected for the Indian Team at the age of 17. She attended Keyes Girls High School in Secundrabad often playing male cricketers in the nets.

Career :-

Her passion for the cricket is unsurpassed. She was selected for the Indian team at the age of 17. At 14, she was one of the probables for the 1997 Women’s Cricket World Cup but was not selected for the final squad. In 1999, her ODI debut was against Ireland. In the domestic competitions Mithali plays for the Railways.

Mithali began by playing for Air India with stars like Anjum Chopra and Anju Jain. She led Indian Women’s team to the first final in 2002 World Cup. Mithali made her ODI debut in 1999 against Ireland at Milton Keynes. In her debut she scored an outstanding runs of 114 not out.

She made her International Test Debut against South Africa in 2001-2002. Mithali broke the record of 209 runs of Karen Rolton with her 214 runs to become the World’s Highest Individual Test Score in August of 2002 at the age of 19. Recipient of the 2003 Arjuna Award, currently she tops the batting charts.

Mithali led the Indian Women’s Cricket Team to the Finals in the 2005 Women’s Cricket World Cup. Under Mithali’s captaincy, Indian Women’s Cricket Team won their first ever Test and series against England as well as the Asia Cup (twice in the same year) with an unbreakable winning streak.

She starred as the No.1 Cricketer in the ODI chart for Women Cricketers in the 2013 Women’s World Cup. Under her captaincy the Indian Women’s Cricket team made it to the finals of the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup.

In an interview after returning from the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 Mithali Raj says, “India must play more test matches to produce quality players.”

Achievements :-

She is the first captain to lead India to ICC ODI World Cup final twice- first in 2005 and then in 2017.
She is the recipient of the Padma Shri award of 2015.
She was awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2003 by the Government of India.
Presently she is the highest run scorer in women’s ODIs. She has amassed 6190 runs.
Currently she is the captain of the Indian Women’s Cricket team.

Awards :-

Raj was awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award for her outstanding achievement in sports by the Government of India in 2003. Also, Mithali Raj was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India in the year 2015