Agency :
Indian women’s cricket legend Mithali Raj said that she wanted to retire after the 2018 T20 World Cup controversy that saw her dropped from the team for the semi-final and her spat with then-coach Ramesh Powar become public.
“I wanted to retire after the World T20 2018 itself, but because of the controversy, I was not in the right space. The controversy lasted for close to three months, so I couldn’t give much thought to take this call (retirement) at that time,” Mithali told Firstpost.
“When we toured New Zealand in January 2019 for T20s I spoke to the coach because he was discussing the plan for the T20 World Cup in 2020. And I thought it was wise for me to let him know my plan, as I wasn’t seeing myself playing the T20 World Cup in Australia. It was only appropriate for me to tell him that I was planning to retire after the T20 series in New Zealand.
“However, my dad wanted me to retire on home soil which is why I told the coach and chairman of selectors that the home series against England in March would be my last. I conveyed this to them in February during the New Zealand tour”.
Indian women’s cricket legend Mithali Raj said that she wanted to retire after the 2018 T20 World Cup controversy that saw her dropped from the team for the semi-final and her spat with then-coach Ramesh Powar become public.
“I wanted to retire after the World T20 2018 itself, but because of the controversy, I was not in the right space. The controversy lasted for close to three months, so I couldn’t give much thought to take this call (retirement) at that time,” Mithali told Firstpost.
“When we toured New Zealand in January 2019 for T20s I spoke to the coach because he was discussing the plan for the T20 World Cup in 2020. And I thought it was wise for me to let him know my plan, as I wasn’t seeing myself playing the T20 World Cup in Australia. It was only appropriate for me to tell him that I was planning to retire after the T20 series in New Zealand.
“However, my dad wanted me to retire on home soil which is why I told the coach and chairman of selectors that the home series against England in March would be my last. I conveyed this to them in February during the New Zealand tour”.
