Eyes fixed firmly on the silverware, says veteran Mithali Raj

India ODI captain Mithali Raj has time and again stated that the World Cup trophy is her motivation and reiterated she won’t be retiring without getting a hand to it. Once again the veteran India batter stated in public her eyes are firmly fixed on the trophy after the ICC postponed the 2021 event until 2022 due to COVID-19 pandemic.

“Whilst this is never great news to wake up to. I can understand the reasons why given the lack of cricket in some countries. I just hope those players who were planning to retire after the World Cup can hold on for one year...right Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami and Rachael Haynes,” cricketer-turned-commentator Lisa Sthalekar tweeted following ICC’s decision on Friday (August 7).

Oh absolutely , my eyes are fixed firmly on the trophy 🏆. with all niggles recovered , mind and body fresh and stronger than before I am definitely looking at World Cup 2022 .

— Mithali Raj (@M_Raj03) August 8, 2020

To this, Mithali replied: “Oh absolutely, my eyes are fixed firmly on the trophy. With all niggles recovered, mind and body fresh and stronger than before, I am definitely looking at World Cup 2022.” "Good to hear. Gives you more time to nail your high knees," Lisa stated back.

The Hyderabad-born right-hander had led India to the final of the showpiece event in 2017 where they had to face a heart-wrenching defeat against England in the summit clash at the iconic Lord’s. One of India’s most successful female cricketers, Mithali has so far scored 6888 runs in 209 ODIs, 663 runs in 10 Tests and 2364 runs in 89 T20Is.