Mithali Raj

Mithali Raj (born 3 December 1982) is an Indian former cricketer who captained the national team from 2004 to 2022. She is the highest run-scorer in women's international cricket, and ESPN ranked her as one of the greatest female cricketers of all time. Raj has received several national and international awards, including the Wisden Leading Woman Cricketer in the World in 2017, Arjuna Award in 2003, the Padma Shri in 2015, and Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2021. Raj holds numerous records in international cricket. She is the only female cricketer to surpass 7,000 runs in Women's One Day International (WODI) matches. She is the first player to score seven consecutive 50s in ODIs. She also holds the record for most half-centuries in WODIs. In 2005, Raj became the permanent captain of India. She is the only female player to have captained India in more than one ICC ODI World Cup final, doing so in the 2005 and the 2017. In June 2018, during the 2018 Women's Twenty20 Asia Cup, she became the first player from India to score 2000 runs in T20Is. She also became the first female cricketer to reach 2000 WT20I runs. On 1 February 2019, during India's series against New Zealand Women, Mithali Raj became the first woman to play in 200 ODI matches. In September 2019 she announced her retirement from T20Is to focus on ODI cricket. In 2019, she became the first woman to complete 20 years in international cricket. In July 2021, Raj broke Charlotte Edwards's record of 10,273 runs to become the player with the most runs in women's international cricket. On 8 June 2022, Raj announced her retirement from all formats of international cricket.