To an interview to NDTV youth for a change organised by NDTV; Mithali Raj said that when she started playing cricket, it was not famous sports among the people as it did not have visibility like men’s cricket nobody knows about women cricket. Moreover there was no money in cricket, even nobody knows that when She made a debut in cricket. Mithali Raj added that she is happy to be part of the changing women cricket phase. According to her things changed a lot after Indian Women cricket team made to the final’s of ICC Women’s World Cup 2017. Because of this the entire 15 Women’s got recognized; they truly deserve it and that’s good for Indian cricket. She said that finally women cricket is getting what was due for it.
Mithali revealed that she started playing cricket as an hobby, she said that her father wants to play cricket. Further she said that she was very lazy and her father was from air force background and he wants him to wake up early and her dad wants her to play for team India and represent the country and became world’s best cricketer. She said there were lots of struggle in the starting and it took time to accept herself as a professional cricketer. What’s more she said that the motivation came from her parents only because being from south Indian background it was not an easy for her parents to support her to play cricket in nineties. According to her there was lot of negativity in her family for cricket and her grandparents want her to become classical dancer because they have in their mind if I play cricket than my face skin will became tan and it will be not easy to get married. Mithali said that what she is today just because of her father and all the credit goes to him.
When NDTV reporter asked her how much it was difficult to choose between cricket and bharat natiyam? She smiled and said that cricket was her hobby and it was done just like that but dance is her passion in past, present and will remain in future also. in addition Mithali Raj said that she had to do both dance and cricket side by side and it was really complicated for her dancing teachers as whenever she came with tan face for dance practice it was not easy for them to do makeup on tan skin and one day they told her to choose one from the two and She choose cricket because according to her dance can be learnt any time but not cricket.
In the last Mithali Raj said that the women cricket needs to be televised like this only so that the continuity remains the same so that interest of the fans in women cricket not gets shadowed. She said that a big change has come in Women’s Cricket because I think nobody knows that India women has played 2005 world cup final also. So this is a triumph and needs to be carried in future also
Mithali Raj Career Statistics
| Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | Avg | HS | 100 | 50 | |
| Tests | 10 | 16 | 3 | 663 | 51 | 214 | 1 | 4 |
| ODIs | 186 | 167 | 47 | 6190 | 51.58 | 114* | 6 | 49 |
| T20Is | 63 | 61 | 16 | 1708 | 37.95 | 73* | 0 | 10 |
