Mithali Raj : The final can change the fortunes of women's cricket in India

Indian women’s cricket team captain Raj and Jhulan Goswami are the only two players in the current team who played the 2005 World Cup Final. In that match, India failed to offer any competition and lost the match against Australia by 98 runs. But, this time, the 34-year Raj feels that playing in the final will be very different from the past. 

Both the finalists of the ICC Women’s World Cup, India and England, have impressed with the bat in this tournament. India made 281 in their opening match against England, while England smashed 377 for seven to register a win over Pakistan. The Indian skipper believed that their performances in recent times will help thte country’s women players to perform better and it mkght convince the BCCI to start a new tournament.

"Women's cricket in India will have a brand of its own. It doesn't require anything else to support it in promoting the sport. This platform and this win will definitely give that edge for young girls to take up sport back home. Maybe, you never know, women's IPL might be in the pipeline," Raj opined.

Whenever the Indian women’s players have got the chance, they have tried to perform at their best despite the odds. Raj has perfectly led her team and has always performed as a leader. However, the Indian captain felt that the team needs to play more international cricket before coming to IPL. "I think we have to play more international cricket before we get into IPL. We don't play enough international games. We haven't played since November coming into this competition. We can't get too far ahead of ourselves. England need to play New Zealand more, Australia more, South Africa more. We need to play more good games, home games from a selfish point of view. IPL might improve cricket in India, but we want to play more international games," Raj added.