I wanted to give coach time to prepare team for next T20I World Cup, Mithali Raj says on her retirement
Mithali Raj has said that her decision to retire from T20Is has been on the cards for a while now as she wanted WV Raman, the head coach, to have enough time to prepare the team for the next World Cup. Meanwhile, Mithali hopes that her swan song from all forms of cricket will be the 2021 World Cup.
Ever since the controversy between IndiaāsĀ former skipperĀ and former head coach Ramesh Powar during the World T20s last year, Mithali has been on the fringes of the side for the shortest format of the game. And so, the 36-year-oldās decision to focus only on ODIs from here on gives the selectors less of a headache as they prepare the team for the next edition of the T20 World Cup.
āI had already discussed the issue and also shared it with the coach and selector during the New Zealand tour in January this year. Even before we got into the T20I series against England, I had spoken to them as I could see that I wouldn't be figuring in the next T20 World Cup. So I thought, as there is one year to go, I should give the coach time so that he can prepare the team accordingly. I didn't want to keep the decision pending till the last moment as it won't be appropriate on my part to announce the retirement later,ā Mithali told TOI.Ā
It was befitting, in some ways, that her final T20I appearance came on home soil (Guwahati) against England. Back in 2006, India played their first-ever T20I also against England, which had seen Mithali leading the line to an eight-wicket win.Ā
āWell, I can only say that it was all very new for us. Twenty overs was very short as it just finishes in the blink of an eye. It was all so new and we were playing for the first time that we didn't know how to go about with it - what planning to do etc. Any new concept takes time to understand, to figure out and what is best etc. We actually didn't have any plan and just ran through a few things and it all clicked for us as we won that match,ā she said.Ā
Mithali has represented India in 89 T20Is and has an impressive record in the format with 2364 runs at an average of 37.52, with 17 fifties. As she reminisced her career in the shortest format of the game, Mithali noted that the high points came during the 2014 World T20s, the T20I series win in Australia in 2015, and opening for her country for the first time in 2014. However, as a captain, she suffered a major low when India failed to qualify for the finals in the 2016 edition of the World Cup at home, and looking ahead, she hopes her swan song will come with the 2021 50-over World Cup.Ā
āI am planning for the ODI World Cup as there is a year-and-a-half more to go. We have enough time to prepare for it as I am one of those players who invests a lot of time in preparation. I want the 2021 World Cup to be my swansong. That is something that I am looking at and am working towards it. After the T20 World Cup finishes, every board will start preparing for the ODI World Cup so that period will be a very busy one. That's why this is the time to get my preparations going. As of now, I don't want to think about that part (post-retirement),ā Mithali added.
