Mithali Raj

Captain of Women in Blue, the Indian women’s national cricket team, Mithali Raj is a pioneer of female leadership and representation in sport. Her vast achievements are a testament to her talent and commitment, and serve to inspire future female athletes. When Mithali is booked for events she readily shares her story with audiences, including the winning mindset that allowed her to thrive on the international stage.

Credited to Mithali’s inspiring drive to succeed, she is best known for her cricket-defining “first”. She is the first player to score seven 50s in ODIs, and currently holds the record for the most half-centuries in the WODIs. While representing her country, she became the first Indian cricketer to score 2000 runs in the T20Is. Mithali was appointed cricket captain in 2005, and was later titled the only female player to captain India for multiple ICC ODI World Cup finals.

As a female athlete, she is the highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket, the first woman cricketer to reach 2002 WT20I runs and the only female cricketer to surpass 6,000 runs in Women’s One Day International matches. She is also the first woman to compete in 200 ODI matches, and the first to complete two decades in international cricket. As a speaker, Mithali promotes the importance of gender representation in sport, and the untapped potential of female athletes.

Following her debut at the 1999 One Day International, Mithali built a batting average of 51.00 and amassed a whopping 9,915 runs scored across Women’s Test Cricket, One Day International and Twenty20 International. The record-breaker has competed in several Women’s World Cups, including in 2017 where she scored her seventh consecutive half-century and set the record for the most consecutive 50s by a player. She is the 1st Indian and 5th female player to score 1,000 World Cup runs, a testament to Mithali’s talent.

Mithali’s position as the leading run-scorer for India earned her the nickname ‘Lady Tendulkar of Indian Women’s cricket’. Her reputation led Mithali to consult for the Women’s National Cricket Team, and has been recognised with several awards. These include the 2003 Arjuna Award and 2015 Padma Shri. Outside of India, she was named the Vogue Sportsperson of the Year, listed in the BBC 100 Women and awarded the Wisden Leading Woman Cricketer in the World in 2017.