Picture Credit: Instagram
The flagbearer of the Indian Women's cricket Mithali Raj called on her international career via a heartfelt statement on social media. In her illustrious career, Raj played 12 Test matches, 232 ODIs and 89 T20Is and 195 matches as a skipper. Raj even emerged as a trusted leader of the team as she led the team India in four editions of the World Cup.
Raj brought the curtains down on her glorious career as the highest run-scorer in ODIs with a tally of 7805 runs including seven hundred and 64 fifties. Minutes after Raj announced her decision, social media was flooded with tributes pouring in for the celebrated cricketer. Bollywood actress Taapsee Pannu, who is also essaying the character of Mithali in her upcoming biopic "Shabaash Mithu", credited the 39-year-old for being an inspirational figure. She wrote under the cricketer's post on Instagram saying, "Thank you is all we can say for putting women's cricket on the map for this cricket crazy nation!"
The Bollywood actress even posted a special message on her Instagram profile as she listed out her achievements and milestones of Mithali. She wrote, "Youngest ODI captain for the Indian cricket team. The only Indian cricketer to captain the team in 4 world cups and reach finals twice! Youngest cricketer to score 200 in a test match. The only Indian cricketer to score 7 consecutive 50s in ODI. 23 years from hustle to glory."
Adding further, Pannu also mentioned that Mithali's personalities and her achievements are genders agnostic and she changed the game with her potential and consistency over the years. "You changed the game, now it’s our turn to change the perspective! Etched in history OUR CAPTAIN forever @mithaliraj On to the next innings of life," she concluded.
Speaking of the movie, the teaser for the upcoming sports biopic 'Shabaash Mithu' was released on March 21. The biopic is being directed by Srijit Mukherji and produced by Viacom18 Studios. Mithali Raj had already retired from the T20 format and her decision to stop playing all formats was expected after India's ODI World Cup campaign ended in March.
