Mithali Raj Biography: Mithali Raj is an Indian former cricketer who captained the national team from 2004 to 2022.
Few names in Indian cricket command as much respect and admiration as Mithali Raj, a player whose elegant batting and calm leadership transformed women’s cricket in the country.
When the story of women’s cricket in India is told, Mithali Raj stands at its very center a symbol of consistency, determination, and excellence.
Personal Overview
| Field | Details |
|---|
| Full Name | Mithali Raj |
| Date of Birth | 3 December 1982 |
| Birthplace | Jodhpur |
| Age (2026) | 43 years |
| Height | 5 ft 4 in |
| Role | Top-order Right Hand Batter |
| Education | Keyes High School for Girls, Hyderabad; Kasturba Gandhi Junior College for Women, Secunderabad |
| Estimated Net Worth | ₹40–45 Crore |
| Teams | India Women Blue, India Women’s National Cricket Team |
Early Life
Mithali Raj was born on 3 December 1982, in Jodhpur, Rajasthan to a Tamil family.
Her mother is Leela Raj, and her father, Dorai Raj, was a warrant officer in the Indian Air Force. She lives in Hyderabad, Telangana.
Raj started playing cricket at the age of ten.
She graduated from Keyes High School for Girls in Hyderabad, and Kasturba Gandhi Junior College for Women in Secunderabad.
She received cricket coaching in elementary school alongside her older brother.
Domestic Career
Raj played for Air India alongside Purnima Rau, Anjum Chopra, and Anju Jain, before joining Railways for the domestic championship.
She has played for the Supernovas and Velocity in the Women’s T20 Challenge.
International Career
Raj has played all three of India’s cricket formats: Test, ODI, and T20.
She was named among the probables for the 1997 Women’s Cricket World Cup when she was fourteen, but she did not make it to the final squad.
She made her ODI debut in 1999 against Ireland at Milton Keynes, UK, and scored an unbeaten 114 runs.
She made her Test debut in the 2001–02 season against South Africa at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
On 17 August 2002, at the age of 19, she broke Karen Rolton’s world record for the highest individual test score of 209* in her third test, scoring a new high of 214 against England in the second and final test at County Ground, Taunton, UK.
The record has since been surpassed by Kiran Baluch of Pakistan, who scored 242 against the West Indies in March 2004.
In South Africa in 2005, Raj led India to their first finals in 2005 Women’s Cricket World Cup, where they lost to Australia.
In 2005, Raj became the permanent captain of India.
In August 2006 she led her team to their first-ever Test series victory in England, and concluded the year by successfully defending the Asia Cup without losing a single game.
Mithali Raj won the 2003 Arjuna award.
At the 2013 Women’s World Cup, Raj was the number 1 woman ODI cricketer.
In her career she scored one century and four fifties in Test cricket, five centuries and five fifties in ODIs, together with best bowling figures of 3–4 in ODIs, and ten fifties in T20s.
In February 2017 she became the second player to score 5,500 runs in ODIs.
Raj is the first player to captain the most matches for India in ODI and T20I.
In July 2017 she became the first player to score 6,000 runs in WODIs.
She led the Indian team to the final of the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup where the team lost to England by nine runs.
In June 2018, during the 2018 Women’s Twenty20 Asia Cup, she became the first player from India to score 2000 runs in T20Is.
She also became the first female cricketer to reach 2000 WT20I runs.
In October 2018 she played on India’s squad for the 2018 ICC Women’s World Twenty20 tournament in the West Indies.
On 1 February 2019, during India’s series against New Zealand Women, Mithali Raj became the first woman to play in 200 ODI matches.
In September 2019 she announced her retirement from T20Is to focus on ODI cricket.
In 2019, she became the first woman to complete 20 years in international cricket.
In November 2020, Raj was nominated for the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Award for ICC Female Cricketer of the Decade, and the award for women’s ODI cricketer of the decade.
In May 2021 she was named captain of India’s Test squad for their one-off (one-time only) match against the England women’s cricket team.
In July 2021, Raj broke Charlotte Edwards’s record of 10,273 runs to become the player with the most runs in women’s international cricket.
On 8 June 2022, Raj announced her retirement from all formats of international cricket.
Raj was the batting consultant for India women’s national cricket team, and has played as a player-coach.
Fun and Interesting Facts
Before becoming a cricket legend, Mithali Raj trained in Bharatanatyam. Her parents even considered a career in dance for her before cricket took over.
Mithali had a dream start to her career. She scored 114 runs in her ODI debut in 1999 against Ireland women’s national cricket team.
Taapsee Pannu was cast in the role of Mithali Raj in a biopic titled Shabaash Mithu.
Because of her consistency and impact, many fans called her “Lady Tendulkar,” comparing her influence to that of Sachin Tendulkar.
Mithali became one of the youngest captains of the Indian women’s team when she led India women’s national cricket team in Test cricket in 2004.
Mithali Raj is known for carrying books with her on tours and often reads during long travel schedules.
She played international cricket for over two decades (1999–2022), making her one of the longest-serving players in women’s cricket.
She received India’s top sports honors, including the Arjuna Award and the Padma Shri.
Records
Mithali Raj became the first woman to score more than 7,000 runs in Women’s One Day Internationals (ODIs), making her the highest run-scorer in the format.
She holds the record for 7 consecutive half-centuries in ODIs (2017), showing her remarkable consistency.
She captained the India women’s national cricket team in more than 150 international matches, the most by an Indian women’s captain.
Mithali played international cricket for over 23 years (1999–2022), one of the longest careers in women’s cricket history.
Mithali Raj became the first Indian woman cricketer to play 200 ODI matches.
Receiving Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award from President Ram Nath Kovind on 13 November 2021.
She got Fecilated by BCCI on 15 March 2026 for BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award.
Controversy
Mithali Raj was involved in controversy with cricket management because of her attitude towards the game during the 2018 ICC Women’s World Twenty20.
In a letter to the BCCI, she accused coach Ramesh Powar and BCCI COA member Diana Edulji of bias, and of humiliating her by not including her in the T20 world cup semifinals.
Powar, in turn, criticized Raj for threatening to retire from cricket when asked to play down the batting order.
He further accused Raj of “blackmailing and pressuring coaches” and causing division in the team during the recently concluded World T20.
He added, “despite being a senior player in the team she puts in minimum inputs in team meetings.
She could not understand and adapt to the team plan.
She ignored her role and batted for own milestones.
Lack of keeping the momentum going which was putting extra pressure on other batters.
Coach Powar also criticized Raj’s 50 against Ireland in the same tournament, in which she ended up playing 25 dot balls.
Her relationship with the T20 team’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur was strained.
However, after reappointment of Ramesh Powar as Head Coach of the Indian women’s cricket team in May 2021, the two have reconciled.
Raj and Kaur confirmed in various interviews that there was no bad relation between them.
Written By- Nishchay Malhotra
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