CRICKETNEXT

CHANGE LANGUAGE
English
हिन्दी বাংলা मराठी ગુજરાતી ಕನ್ನಡ தமிழ் മലയാളം తెలుగు ਪੰਜਾਬੀ اردو অসমীয়া ଓଡ଼ିଆ
Follow Us On
Back to News18
Home » Cricket Home » News » I Am In A Better Position To Understand The Insecurities Of A Player: Mithali Raj

I Am In A Better Position To Understand The Insecurities Of A Player: Mithali Raj

In an exclusive to CricketNext, Indian Women's Team ODI Captain, Mithali Raj opens up about her cricketing journey and how her position within the team and priorities have changed over the years and help her understand the insecurities of the young members of the team better.

I Am In A Better Position To Understand The Insecurities Of A Player: Mithali Raj

Indian captain Mithali Raj is one of the greatest batters in the history of the women’s game. She is the highest scorer for India in ODIs and T20Is. In an exclusive to CricketNext, Raj opens up about her cricketing journey and how her position within the team and priorities have changed over the years.

“Priorities do change. When I got selected for the first time in the Indian team way back in 1999, I was trying to make an impression ‘that I am a good player and I deserve to be in the team’. Once you do that, you become a core member of the team and want to perform every time.”

EXCLUSIVE – The Only Thing I am Looking at Right Now is The World Cup, I Want to Get That Trophy: Mithali Raj

Raj was given the responsibility of leading the Indian team at a very young age and that brought with it its own challenges.

“I got captaincy at a very young age. I had seniors under me, I had ex-captains under me. The priorities change when you become the captain.”

She added that now she is a senior member of the team and takes upon herself to mentor the young players. Raj also added that the various phases during her career helped her grow as an individual and a player. She further stated that her experience helped her to empathize and understand the junior members better.

“After that, there were players who were of my age. Then came a point when players were junior to me. Today, most of them are younger to me. Over the years, the phases also helped. When I had young players under me, I see it as being a semi-mentor now. I understand the players better. From leading a team with seniors, leading a team with ex-captains, leading a team with players of my age-group and now leading the young players, I had so many players under me.”

“I am in a better position to understand the insecurities of a player, their vulnerabilities in my own capacity, I try to give them space, help them iron out issues. I could do it because of the experience of leading so many players over the years, I have also seen that it is not just about leading a team. It is also a lot to do with giving them a platform to flourish, showcase their talent, and also try to build the team because after every World Cup, there are a lot of changes in the side,” added Raj.

Raj also spoke about the responsibilities as the leader of the team and her role as captain.

“As the captain, you identify talent, nurture it. A lot has gone in these many years, it has helped me become a better player, a better captain. It has also changed me as a person over time. I see it as me helping them, sharing my experiences with them so that they don’t have to go through the same things that I went through.”​

Team Rankings

RankTeamPointsRating
1 New Zealand 3198 118
2 Australia 3028 116
3 India 3085 114
4 England 4326 106
5 South Africa 2499 96
FULL Ranking
RankTeamPointsRating
1 England 5405 123
2 India 6102 117
3 New Zealand 3716 116
4 Australia 4344 111
5 South Africa 3345 108
FULL Ranking
RankTeamPointsRating
1 England 6877 275
2 Australia 6800 272
3 India 10186 268
4 Pakistan 7516 259
5 South Africa 5047 252
FULL Ranking

Upcoming Matches