Mithali Raj’s contribution to the women’s cricket is perhaps equivalent to that of Sachin Tendulkar’s for men’s cricket. The 33-year old, who made her debut as a 17-year old way back in 1999, is the leading run-getter in One Day Internationals and is the first and so far only woman cricketer to cross the 6,000-run mark in the 50-over format. The right-handed batswoman, who had scored a stunning 214 at the age of just 19 against England, recently proved her worth yet another time by leading the scoring-charts for India in the recently concluded World Cup where the Women in Blue finished runners-up.
And so it is absolutely not surprising to see the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) being criticised for not nominating the inspirational player for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. On Thursday, Paralympian Devendra Jhajharia and former hockey captain Sardar Singh were recommended for the award but there was no trace of any member of the women’s cricket team, which recently became the toast of the nation for their brilliant performance in the World Cup. Usually, the Federation sends nominations but the Indian cricket board ignored the call.
The board’s decision, meanwhile, has stunned many including former women cricketers who believe that Mithali deserved India’s highest recognition in sports.
“It’s surprising. In my opinion, both Mithali and Jhulan (Goswami) deserve the Khel Ratna, simply because they are now the world-record holders. What they have achieved, words can’t describe it. They’ve done great service for the team. But I’m sure the central government can ignore the absence of recommendations and give them the award. They both richly deserve it,” former India skipper, Shantha Rangaswamy was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.
Sreerupa Bose, who represented India in two ODIs, echoed Shantha’s sentiments and said the consistent Mithali deserved the award.
“Such consistency is not seen in many cricketers. She is one of those who has kept her consistency for years now. Also, she is the highest run-getter, which is no mean achievement. These are top qualities of a player to get recognised,” she said.