Mithali Raj holds off retirement after India loses at ICC Womens World Cup

India
women’s cricket team’s campaign in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 ended in
disappointment as they could not make it to the semifinals. The defeat against
South Africa knocked India out of the competition. This was believed to be
captain Mithali Raj’s final outing for India. She had also indicated the same. But
after India’s defeat, she made a U-turn saying it’s not the right time
to take a call on her future just after the team’s exit from the tournament.

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“I’ve
not really planned much about the future. For us, as players and athletes, when
you have a disappointment in a campaign that ends like this in a World Cup
where you have really prepared very hard over a year, it takes time for players
to accept and then move on from there to whatever the future holds for each and
every player,” said captain Mithali Raj in the post-match press conference.

“It
would not be appropriate for me to comment anything on that, considering the
kind of game we just played and as I said, the emotions are still there. So, it
needs to settle down before I could have clarity on that and give an answer to
that,” she added.

Also Read: India beat Bangladesh by 110 runs, keeps semifinals hopes alive

During
the ICC Women’s World Cup in New Zealand, Mithali became the third cricketer to
play in six World Cups after Sachin Tendulkar and Javed Miandad. She had
earlier hinted about her retirement, saying that “one cycle of life is
complete” for her as she looks to end her “journey”. She,
however, said on Sunday that she would decide on the future of her career when
“emotions are under control”.

Also Read: ICC women’s world cup: West Indies face Aus, Eng to battle SA in semifinals

Meanwhile,
talking about the veteran pace bowler Jhulan Goswami, who was ruled out of
India’s match against South Africa due to a side strain, she said, “I’m
sure she would have made a difference because with so many years of experience,
playing different teams on different surfaces and in similar pressure
situations. Having a senior player like her to lead the bowling attack, clearly
it would have made a difference.”

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“But
having said that, I’m sure she might be feeling a little disappointed that the
last game of the Indian team she could not be part of, but then that’s how it
is. She had a side strain during the training session and she couldn’t
recover,” she added.