India's inspirational skipper Mithali Raj is not sure whether she will be wearing the blue jersey for the 2021 World Cup in New Zealand. However, Raj does know that she still has 2-3 years of cricket left in her.
During a felicitation function organised by the BCCI here on Thursday, Mithali said she will play till she is fit and confident enough to carry on.
"As a player everyone wishes to play and make their career longer but I will play till I am fit and confident enough to play. Nobody knows what will happen in coming four years," said the 34-year-old during an event when each of the squad member was presented Rs 50 lakh by the Board.
"Next World Cup (ODI) is in 2021 but our current focus should be on Twenty20 World Cup next year. We should start preparing already for it. But coming back to your question, I still have two-three years in me to play for this country," she added.
Mithali, the only woman cricketer to cross the 6000-run mark in ODIs, feels the pressure is less on her lately due to many of her teammates consistent performances.
When asked about other consistent performers around her, is it easier for you to play freely, she replied, "Yes, I think so because now I have players who can step up if I lose my wicket. If we look at the whole tournament, Smriti (Mandana) played good in the first half of the tournament, Punam (Raut) has been consistent, Harmanpreet (Kaur) did so in the second half. We have Deepti (Sharma) who is a good all-rounder and performs for the team when required. I don't have that much of a burden that I had to carry previously. So it will probably get the best out of me in the coming two-three years."
"As a captain and top-order batter my role still remains the same. I still want to perform and win matches for the team, but that extra burden of carrying the team is not there anymore, I know the team has match winners now, that is not just the batters but we have good spinners and fast bowlers too," she added.
When asked on who could be her long-term successor as a captain, Mithali said, "I don't know yet but as a player grows and gain experience from international cricket. Each one of them is capable of being a captain. Of course now Harman is there, Mandhana and Deepti Sharma are also there. But you never know whose destiny it is. These bunch of players have the ability to take up the challenge whenever it is thrown at them."
Mithali is pleased with the fact that they did not lose the World Cup Final without a fight to hosts England. However, she feels hurt for not able to reach the target in the end. "We gave it our best, every player wanted to perform for the team. It was a big occasion for the team and we didn't allow them the cup easy. It wasn't a one-sided affair. Nobody expected us to reach Final. But reaching Final and restricting host teams to a low total and building such a strong partnership to the chase, I will see them as positives. But it does hurt to not to score those last 10 runs," she explained.
The 34-year-old skipper feels the seeds for their empathic World Cup run were sown during last year Australian ODI series.
"Before we went into the World Cup, not many people gave us the chance that we would cut into the semifinals or the Final. This World Cup in particular has been very tough and what the team has achieved in this tournament the seeds were sown right from the Australia ODI series to West Indies series to the Quadrangular Series in South Africa, the Qualifiers in Sri lanka and into the World Cup. The preparation has been very good for which I extend my thanks to BCCI for supporting the girls, showing faith and helping them prepare for the World Cup," she said.
The right-handed batter feels it is good to be appreciated for their efforts.
"I'm one of those players who have seen days before BCCI and after BCCI took over. I'm very fortunate I continue to play because today I'm seeing this phase in women's cricket. There were times even when despite playing well in 2005 World Cup, we never had this kind of reception or media coming and hounding the girls for interviews.
"It's very nice feeling to go through and feel appreciated and acknowledged for the efforts we have been putting through all these years," she added.
Mithali feels reading books help her remain calm before a match.
"I love to read books. I read books since the age of 6 years. Player have their way to prepare themselves before the match. The conventional idea of preparation doesn't really help me that much. Reading a book keeps me calm and composed before the match, so I always carry a lot of books with me," she elaborated.