Is Mithali Raj Retiring From T20Is After Home Series Against England?

India's highest T20I run-scorer may bid adieu to the shortest format in March

After the infamous Women’s World Cup 2018 final selection fiasco, Mithali Raj accused former coach Ramesh Powar of bias. With Powar getting sacked, everyone expected Mithali to stay in the T20I side for few more years. But it seems like she will make way for a young cricketer in 2019 itself.

A senior BCCI official revealed few details to PTI on condition of anonymity,

“Mithali understands that skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will like to concentrate on building a team for the 2020 World T20 and that she is unlikely to feature in that tournament.”

England’s tour of India including 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is will start on February 22. The T20I series will start on March 4. All the T20Is will be played in Guwahati. But the bad news for Mithali’s fans is that they might not even see her play all the three T20Is.

“But a player of her stature should get a warm send-off and that is likely to be against England. It is still not sure whether she would like to play the full series against England or like former men’s team pacer Ashish Nehra, play the first game of the series and retire,”

The 35-year-old is currently in India’s T20I squad on New Zealand tour. However, she was not a part of the first T20I played today. Due to lack of depth in India’s batting order, India lost the match by 23 runs even when they were cruising towards the target at one point during the runchase.

The exclusion also indicates that the ODI skipper is not in T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur’s future plans for the T20I format.

ALSO READ: Why Despite His Team’s Win, David Miller Felt Like ‘The Worst Captain On The Planet’

ALSO WATCH: 

×Close
×Close