“Keeping that option open”- Mithali Raj on playing in the inaugural Women’s IPL

Mithali Raj retired from international cricket earlier this year.

Former India cricketer and one of the legends of women’s cricket, Mithali Raj has said that she would love to play in the inaugural edition of the Women’s IPL which the BCCI plans to launch from next year onwards.

Mithali Raj has also played in the Women’s T20 challenge competition that the BCCI organizes alongside the IPL for the past few years, but the BCCI secretary Jay Shah has confirmed that a full-fledged Women’s IPL will happen from next year.

Talking about her plans to appear in the tournament, Mithali Raj said that she is keeping the option open and hasn’t decided anything yet.

“I’m keeping that option open. I’ve not yet decided. There are a few more months to go before the women’s IPL happens. It would be lovely to be part of the first edition of the women’s IPL,” Raj said on ICC’s 100% Cricket podcast.

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Talking about the next generation of talent, Raj was all praise for Shafali Verma, saying “I have been a big fan of her game. I have seen that she’s one player who has the ability to win the game single-handedly for India against any attack and any team. She is one of those players that you get to see probably once in a generation.”

“When I saw Shafali in a domestic match when she played against Indian Railways, she scored a fifty but I could see a glimpse of a player who could change the entire match just with her innings. And when she played for Velocity in the first edition of the Challenger Trophy, she played for my team and I saw that she has the ability and the raw power that you rarely get to see at that age to clear the boundary and hit a six at will,” she said.

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Mithali Raj retired from cricket after the World Cup earlier this year, ending a 24-year-career that began in 1999. She played 12 Tests scoring 699 runs with a best of 214. She played 232 ODIs, scoring a world record 7805 runs with a best of 125* including 7 centuries and a record 64 fifties.

Mithali also played in 89 T20Is, scoring 2364 runs with a best of 97*. She led India to the World Cup finals in 2005 and 2017.

Talking about her life after retirement, Raj said: “I thought it would slow down my lifestyle, in the sense that I don’t have to plan my day, week or next series.”

(ICC inputs)