I wanted Indian cricket to dominate and time has come: Mithali

Mithali Raj said her dream of seeing Indian cricket dominate the global stage is finally becoming a reality with the men’s, women’s and junior teams winning major world titles in recent years.

In the past couple of years, the Indian men’s side ended over a decade-long title drought by winning the 2024 T20 World Cup, while the women’s team followed it up by clinching their maiden ICC trophy— the ODI World Cup crown last year.

India’s dominance extended to the junior circuit as well, with the under-19 teams also lifting world titles in recent years, reinforcing the country’s status as a powerhouse.

“For the longest time, I wanted Indian cricket to dominate and the time has come,” Mithali said at the BCCI Naman awards.

“The last two-three years, Indian cricket — men, women and the under-19 girls or boys, they’ve been doing immensely well. It’s a proud moment as a former cricketer to see the growth of Indian cricket.”

Mithali, along with former players Rahul Dravid and Roger Binny, was honoured with the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award during the BCCI’s annual function on Sunday.

She credited former BCCI secretary and current ICC Chief Jay Shah for playing a key role in the transformation of Indian cricket, particularly the women’s game.

“I have seen the evolution of women’s cricket and I need to acknowledge the support of BCCI and Jay sir. In the last four-five years, there has been a huge transformation of the Indian women’s cricket team and that is because of that one person.

“His vision and commitment towards it...globally also he has put in so much effort to enhance and promote women’s cricket’s profile. It shows that he is a visionary and committed to the cause,” she said.

Shah’s tenure at the BCCI saw the introduction of equal match fees for men and women cricketers and the launch of the fully professional Women’s Premier League.

A trailblazer of the women’s game, Mithali also acknowledged the inspiration she drew from legendary male cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Dravid during her career.

“Women’s cricket had its own journey, so did men’s cricket. But we’ve taken a lot of inspiration from the men cricketers.

“I’ve taken inspiration from Rahul and Sachin because whenever I’ve bumped into them, they’ve always had a lot to chat about, about batting and the advice and suggestions really worked for me when I was playing.”

She said such interactions are important as women cricketers look up to their male counterparts, who have achieved so much success.

“This interaction between the men and women, I think, helps the women cricketers greatly because we’re always trying to catch up with the standards of men’s cricket. In that context, both of them have been doing well.”

Former BCCI President and 1983 World Cup winning team member Binny, reflected on his journey over the years first as player and coach and then as an administrator.

“I was fortunate to be one of the players to play for India. Coming from a country whose population is so big, not many of us get a chance to represent the country. So, for me, representing the country was the biggest goal I achieved in cricket.”

“When I finished playing, the first thing I did was take a break from the game. Then, I realised that I could contribute a lot more to the game.

“That’s why I got into the coaching scene, first from my home state, Karnataka. Then, I did the Indian U19s and the Junior India, the U21s. That was a big boost because I was able to pass on a lot of information to the younger generation of cricketers,” he said.