It was a difficult choice, but neither Mithali Raj nor her fans have any regrets that she chose the latter

Till even a few months ago, most Indians would have had trouble naming a single cricketer from the women’s team. All that changed with Mithali Raj.

She scored her first hit when she famously responded to a reporter’s query about who her favourite male cricketer was with the retort: “Do you ask the same question to a male cricketer? Do you ask them who their favourite female cricketer is?” It made her an instant favourite on social media.

And then she packed an even bigger punch by leading the women in blue into the finals of the World Cup with flamboyant personal performances and terrific team scores. Mithali calms down by reading, has the ability to stay super cool under the strongest pressure, and is a brilliant communicator. All traits that have helped her get where she is.

What strikes me first about Mithali when I meet her at the Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad, where she is being felicitated, is the ease with which she handles the media. She doesn’t hesitate to articulate her opinions. The 34-year-old clearly means business. She wants people to know the other side of women’s cricket—the struggle, the lack of support, the poor domestic structures.

“I think of the days when I started off my career—or rather was pushed into the sport as my mother wanted me to get up early for some fitness training—the days I travelled 12 km on my dad’s scooter to train at nets under the tutelage of the late Sampath Sir,” Mithali tells me. “But what’s imperative to remember is that the journey is dotted with struggle and despair, often leaving us wondering whether the sacrifices were worth it.”

It was Mithali’s father Dorai Raj who was more vocal, often chiding her for early failures, while her mother Leela Raj worried that her little girl was being subjected to such harsh words.

“Well, he did so with good intentions, of seeing his daughter shine. As a mother I always felt sorry for Mithali in the early days. But once she started making a mark in domestic cricket, we never looked back,” says Leela.

Mithali is also a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. “Two things fascinated me early in my career: classical dance and cricket. It was a difficult choice to make but I preferred cricket and I honestly have no regrets now,” she says with a smile.

Laying the foundation

Mithali remembers the joy on her parents’ faces when a well-wisher came home one day to tell them she had scored 91 in a league match and that the local media needed a photograph.

“Those were the days when there were only two major events for women’s cricket, Shankerjee Memorial Women’s League (one-day) and the Dube Trophy (two-day).” Raising funds to conduct even these regularly was a struggle.

Yet it was these two events that produced two captains, including Purnima Rau, who played with Mithali in the 2000 World Cup and was instrumental in laying the foundation for the current World Cup squad as coach.

Mithali, who was born in Jodhpur when her father was posted with the Air Force there, made an immediate impact in her debut with the Indian team, scoring a century in her maiden ODI against Ireland in 1999. Today, she is the world’s leading run-getter in ODIs.

Those were the days when facilities for women were woefully inadequate. “We had a tough time to even play practice matches. Women’s cricket was not a priority.”

It was due to the efforts of Andhra Pradesh Women’s Cricket Association officials like Jyothi Joshi and the late T.N. Pillay that the game survived at least in Hyderabad. “We played very few games in a year. How many remember when we last played a Test match? “Things have definitely changed now, especially after BCCI took over women’s cricket in 2006. There are assured national championships and the players have gained some respect and identity.”

How significant is the 2017 World Cup final in this context, I ask. “The future looks great. But it is important to complement the euphoria surrounding this show with concrete measures. Let us start thinking small first. Start inter-school tournaments for girls across States, ensure that a big pool of young talent is groomed.”

Mithali thinks women’s cricket is “on the threshold of a new era,” but only if the authorities come up with appropriate responses at different levels. “For too long, a section has believed that we are under-performers, conveniently ignoring the limited opportunities we have had at the international level. This World Cup final appearance has been a game-changer.”

IPL for women

Thankfully, better facilities are available now and, most importantly, most State cricket associations are letting out their main stadia for women cricketers to train. “This is a huge leap for us,” says Mithali. “The next area of focus should be more tournaments at the State level and then at the national level.”

She believes it is important to have an IPL-like event for women’s cricket. “It calls for some introspection about where we will get cricketers from in the future if we don’t ensure a decent tournament structure for an assembly line of talent.”

Mithali points out that she led the team to the World Cup finals even in 2005, but this kind of response was missing then. The live telecast of all matches featuring India in international cricket might have made the difference now, but more likely the discourse around women has changed. And then there is social media. “It is today an integral part of not just women’s sport but any sport,” Mithali points out. “We had tweets from celebrities cutting across sections. It was an amazing and different experience for all of us.”

subramanyam.vv@thehindu.co.in