Mithali Raj open to come out of retirement for inaugural Women’s IPL

Former Indian captain Mithali Raj, who announced her retirement from professional cricket last month, said that she would be open to playing in the inaugural Women’s Indian Premier League (IPL).

Speaking to former England player Isa Guha and New Zealand off-spinner Frankie Mackay in the first episode of ICC’s 100% Cricket podcast, Mithali said she would love to participate in the WIPL, which is expected to be launched in 2023.

“I’m keeping that option open. I’ve not yet decided. There are a few more months to go before the women’s IPL happens. It would be lovely to be part of the first edition of the women’s IPL,” she said.

Mithali also said that she thought of retiring from international cricket several times when she struggled with a knee injury.

“There were a couple of times where I felt like I wanted to take retirement. One is because I was struggling with my knee injury for a long, long time. We came under the BCCI in 2006-07 but my injury was from 2005. I did not have a physio or facilities to help me with my rehab. So at the peak of my career, I played with a bad knee and it drained me mentally and emotionally more than the physical pain that I had to endure. That is why after the 2009 World Cup, I considered retirement,” the batting legend added.

In a 23-year-long career, Mithali scored 7,805 ODI runs in 232 matches at an average of 50.7. She smashed 2,364 runs in 89 T20Is, as well as 699 runs in 12 Tests. She bid farewell to the sport as leading run-scorer in ODI cricket.