What has happened in the past has definitely made me wiser, claims Mithali Raj

It all seemed like the beginning of the end for the Indian veteran female cricketer, Mithali Raj, whose exclusion from the squad to face West Indies in the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup sparked a series of controversial events that led to Ramesh Powar being sacked as coach of the women’s team. In a long and gritty battle, that involved the BCCI and CoA, Raj’s character was questioned on multiple occasions as she was accused of using her stance as a senior member of the team to influence team decisions.

Mithali, who has a total of 6720 runs in 203 ODI’s for India, added that she felt a sense of betrayal when players from within the team questioned her character despite playing for the national team for almost 20-odd years.

"I wouldn't say I felt lonely but I definitely feel that I was betrayed. I will not mince my words, yes? Because when you try to think the bigger picture and when you try to play for the team. And when you hear terms like 'selfish' and all, it only makes those people very small. A lot of people have also written articles about my strike-rate, but had people been more wiser and more human to understand whatever the leaked emails were about, it was more about the behaviour meted to me as a cricketer, as a player. Performance on the field happens and doesn't happen. You may like me for my batting or you make not like me, that is a very personal thing for people and I don't push it. But as a player, whether senior or junior, everybody deserves respect. And I am not someone who would quietly take someone trampling over my self respect, whether I play for India or not - it doesn't matter to me. Because at the end of the day, I see myself as an individual and a self-made woman. That was the gist of my vent but people very much made it a very different thing," Raj added.