Women’s cricket icon in India, Mithali Raj, recently joined Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Javed Miandad in the list for longest ODI career after completing 20 years of international cricket on 9th October. Raj played her 205th ODI when she got on-field during the 1st ODI of the 3 match series against South Africa Women.

Mithali, who captains the India women’s cricket team in 50-overs format, also became the first female player to play for her country for over two decades.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took to Twitter to share a video of Mithali and team members, celebrating their skipper’s phenomenal milestone with a cake-cutting ceremony. “3000 Congrats Mithali 20.” BCCI’s post read.


Mithali, who made her debut as a 16-year old in 1999, holds the record for playing the most number of ODIs in women’s cricket. The 36–year-old is also the highest run-getter in women’s cricket and the only woman cricketer to surpass 6000 runs in One Day International’s.

In an interview to timesnownews.com, talking about her T20I retirement, Mithali said, “I don’t think it was tough for me because it was already in my mind since last year itself. After the T20 World Cup, I wanted to retire but things didn’t go really well during the World Cup and then the follow up of the controversy. So I didn’t want to make it, even more, uglier at that point of time and that is why I took this call in the New Zealand series. That is when I expressed and shared my plans with the coach and the chairman of selectors on tour to New Zeland because of the T20 games there. That is when I told them that the series against England (March) would be my last T20 stint for India.”