Mithali Raj remembered the days of struggle, said- People used to consider cricket kitbag as hockey bag.

A confident Indian team is now aiming to win the T20 World Cup title after last year’s ODI World Cup title win and former captain Mithali Raj on Wednesday said that her journey reflects the remarkable progress of women’s cricket in the country, from limited opportunities to becoming the highest run-scorer in international cricket.
Mithali said that her personal journey is also the story of the development of this game in the country.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian women’s team will begin its campaign against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup in England and Wales on Sunday in Birmingham and the game has come a long way since the 1990s when women’s cricket had to struggle to gain recognition and a strong structure.
The biggest result of this change was India’s first title win in the Women’s ODI World Cup held in India and Sri Lanka last year, which helped change long-held perceptions.
India are now looking for their first T20 World Cup title so that they can add another world title to their ODI World Cup title.
Mithali said that adaptability, understanding of conditions and willingness to learn are qualities that will be extremely important for the Indian team.
Mithali said in an event, “Many times we work very hard and feel that we have given our best but then we have to face such situations for which we are not prepared. If you understand the environment and circumstances around you, you will be in a better position to adapt yourself accordingly. ”
He said, “It is very important to adapt yourself to the circumstances. open minded to It is important to be, willing to learn, gain new experiences and incorporate them into your training. My advice is to always be aware and open to new things. ”

Recalling the challenges of her early days, Mithali said that when she used to travel by train with a big kitbag, people would often mistake her for a hockey player because very few people knew that women also play cricket in India.
Mithali said, “When I started playing cricket, very few people knew that women also play cricket. People used to see my kitbag and ask if I play hockey. No one even imagined that this could be the bag of a female cricketer. ”
Mithali, the only woman cricketer to score more than 10,000 international runs, said that in the 1990s the general perception was that women did not play cricket. He recalled, “People thought that we had never seen women playing cricket on the streets, so perhaps they did not play cricket. ”

Mithali said that opportunities were not easy to get during her time. Those who wanted to become cricketers had to make their own path through hard work, struggle and persistent efforts.
He said, “When we were playing, we had to create our own chances. We had to work to give recognition to this game. Many times people came to watch the match only because of the individual hard work and excellent performance of a player. ”
Mithali said that if there was a better support system and stronger sports structure at that time, many players could have had a longer career instead of leaving the game due to disappointment or lack of opportunities.
He said that in the 1990s, strong cooperation arrangements The lack of international cricket slowed the development of women’s cricket and many players had short careers.

Mithali said, “If there was a proper sporting structure in the 1990s, it would have helped women cricketers to prolong their careers. This would have led to the development of the game much faster and its recognition would have also increased much earlier. If such a structure was already in place, it would not have taken so much time. ”
He said, “Today we have the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). We came under BCCI in 2007. Before that, for women cricket and women cricketers in the country, this game was just a fight for survival.