For someone who had shown no interest in playing cricket as a child, Mithali Raj has come a long way. Few know that the Indian captain, who became the highest run-getter in women’s ODIs, trained to be a classical dancer in her younger days. The fact that she would become a record-breaker in cricket, however, was predicted when she was just 10 years old.
She wanted to become a dancer
Mithali or ‘Mithu’, as she is fondly called by her family and friends, was keen on becoming a dancer. However, destiny seems to have had other plans. Mithali’s father Dorai Raj, an officer with the Indian Air Force, who later joined the Andhra Bank, started taking his daughter to the St John’s coaching camp in Secunderabad when she was only 10.
Why she played cricket
“Mithali was a late riser and to get her into the habit of rising early, I started taking her to a cricket camp where my son was being coached. It was there that my friend Jyothi Prasad spotted her talent. After a couple of months, he told me to concentrate on my daughter instead of my son as she showed more promise. That’s how her journey in cricket started,” Dorai Raj said.
Mithali changed schools
Mithali’s stay at St John’s was short-lived as it was an all-boys’ camp. “Jyothi Prasad told me to take her to Sampath Kumar at Keyes School. He also warned me that Sampath was a very strict coach but extremely good too. After a year or so, Sampath told me that Mithali will not only go on to play for India but also break many records. I was not convinced about it but later realised how true his words were,” Dorai said.
Parents told to give 100% support
“Sampath had also told my wife and I to give Mithali 100 per cent support. She was named among the probables in the 1997 World Cup when she was just 14 but the selectors were still not sure of introducing such a young player. There was simply no looking back after that,” Dorai said.
What you did not know about Mithali?
1 She’s an avid reader. Before walking out to bat against England, she read a book by well known Persian poet Jalaluddin Rumi on life.
2 Mithali is an Arjuna awardee. She received the award in 2013.
3 She also received the Padma Shri in 2015.
4 Her father Dorai Raj was an officer in the Indian Air Force.
5 Before taking up cricket, Mithali was a classical dancer. She learnt Bharatanatyam.
6 On her debut, Mithali was 16 years and 250 days old. She is the youngest female cricketer to score a hundred on her ODI debut.
7 She was down with typhoid during the 2002 Women's World Cup. She propelled India to its first ever World Cup final in 2005.
8 In an interview, she admitted that cricket was never on her to-do list.