Mithali Raj has hinted that she may come out of retirement in the inaugural edition of women's Indian Premier League (IPL). Mithali announced her retirement from all forms of cricket last month. However, in a recent chat with former England cricketer Isa Guha and New Zealand's Frankie Mackay in ICC's 100% Cricket podcast, she hinted that she may be ready to pick up the bat again.
“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,” the 39-year-old said.
Ahead of Commonwealth Games 2022 where Harmanpreet Kaur will be leading the troops, Mithali lauded the hard-hitting opener Shafali Verma.
“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,” the veteran batter said.
“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 recalled.
Talking about life after retirement, she said that it was not what she expected it to be as her schedule is still hectic, especially to promote her biopic Shabaash Mithu, which released earlier this month.
“I thought it would slow down my lifestyle, in the sense that I don’t have to plan my day, week or next series,” she said.
“So far it is as hectic as it has been, there’s no change to my lifestyle yet. Maybe when all these things die down, I’d probably feel the difference of what it is post-retirement,” the prolific run-scorer further added.
