Former Indian Women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj has had a career to remember over the years. The 39-year-old has recently announced her retirement from cricket after a 23 year long career and received some deserving accolades from not just the sporting community but also from country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During his Sunday ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio broadcast Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated former India women’s cricketer Mithali Raj on her stellar international career. Raj led Team India for the 2022 Women’s World Cup before announcing her retirement from cricket. 

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“Today, I’d like to talk about Mithali Raj, one of India’s most talented cricketers.” She announced her retirement earlier this month, which left many fans quite emotional.

India will always be grateful to @M_Raj03 for her monumental contribution to sports and for inspiring other athletes. #MannKiBaat pic.twitter.com/8wkuEnbd3F

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) June 26, 2022

Mithali Raj was recently seen praising the Prime Minister during a TV show where the former Indian women cricket captain had gone to promote her biopic “Shabaash Mithu” along with Taapse Pannu who is playing the cricketer on the screen.

Captain of Women’s Indian Cricket team @M_Raj03 recollects the uplifting and positive words of encouragement by none other than our Honourable PM @narendramodi… pic.twitter.com/01vAQJzZZJ

— Priti Gandhi – प्रीति गांधी (@MrsGandhi) July 11, 2022

In a candid outpouring about the India squad’s reception after the 2017 World Cup, Raj said that she was overwhelmed by the grand reception for the team at the airport despite their losing the tournament. Mithali also recollected how PM Modi greeted members of the 2017 World Cup squad with their first name. “ PM not only gave us time and recognised each one of us by name but also listened and answered every question. It is a matter of immense pride for the team”, emphasised Mithali.

The most remarkable thing , Mithali recalled, was how the PM motivated the team saying that only winning is not important, it is also important to win hearts. “PM motivated us by saying that no matter the result, the whole team has won countless hearts and have made the country proud at the biggest stage of the sport”, said an emotional Mithali Raj.