Gujarat Giants roped in Mithali Raj as Mentor and Advisor for WPL
Just a week after the official announcement made by the BCCI for Women’s Premier League (WPL) successful bidders, Ahmedabad-based Gujarat Giants has officially confirmed to rope in Indian Legend Mithali Raj as mentor and advisor, as well as she, is all set to work at the grassroots level in their home state of Gujarat. Adani Sportsline Pvt Ltd utilized a unique highest bidding strategy at the auction and they got the franchise rights at a historic 1289 Crore team bid to earn the rights of Ahmedabad city and make the biggest stadium (Narendra Modi Stadium) in India their home venue.
Inaugural Women’s Premier League, and the GOAT @M_Raj03 to look after! 🤝
— Gujarat Giants (@GujaratGiants) January 28, 2023
We are absolutely thrilled to have the legend on board! ❤#Adani #Cricket #GarjegaGujarat pic.twitter.com/Swjs3f3FMw
Mithali Raj expressed her views after being signed as a mentor for Giants which is as follows.
“Women’s cricket is growing steadily, and this kind of impetus will undoubtedly encourage young women to consider taking up cricket professionally. I believe that the high-impact participation of corporates will help hasten the process of eventually bringing more glory to India. This level of influence can help strengthen the sporting ecosystem and enhance opportunities for women athletes”
Mithali Raj
Director of Adani Enterprises, Pranav Adani also expressed his views on hiring Mithali as a team mentor which is as follows.
“Mithali Raj is a role model for the young generation, and we are delighted to have such an inspirational athlete on board to mentor our women’s cricket team. We believe that the presence of international sporting heroes like Mithali will attract new talent not just into cricket but also into every other sport”
Pranav Adani
Mithali Raj – GOAT Level Stats
She is one of the most respected women cricketers worldwide due to her long service to the Indian Women’s team with stats that no other women cricketer in the world has been able to matchup. Below are some of her amazing contributions of Mithali Raj to Indian Cricket.
- She represented India in six ODI Women’s World Cups which no one in the women’s cricket circuit is able to achieve, thanks to the incredible longevity (22 years, 274 days) of her career.
- She signed off her career as the most-capped International woman cricketer ever which is 333 matches.
- A total of 7805 runs were scored by Raj in ODIs which includes 71 half-centuries and eight centuries. No other woman cricketer has scored even 6000 ODI runs with Charlotte Edwards as the second best with 5992 ODI runs.
- Mithali created history in late 2016 and 2017 when she scored nine consecutive 50-plus scores in international cricket which is the most by any player across Men’s and Women’s cricket.
- Mithali is also the most capped Indian woman cricketer ever in Women’s ODIs at a tally of 155 matches in which she holds the record for most wins (89), most runs (5319), and 52 half-centuries to go with already incredible stats.
- She is the 3rd best Woman leader in the cricket circuit with 109 wins as captain. Meg Lanning tops this chart with 128 wins as captain so far.
- Only double centurion in the Woman cricket circuit for India in a test match against England in 2002 in Taunton.
- She scored a thrilling unbeaten ODI century (114*) on her debut against Ireland in 1999 and at that time she held the record of youngest woman centurion in the circuit.
- Her fitness also impressed many woman cricketers worldwide as she made a record for playing 109 consecutive ODI matches between April 2004 and February 2013.
Here is a comprehensive look at the brilliant overall stats of Raj in all formats.
| Format | Mat | Inns | Runs | HS | Ave | 100s | 50s |
| WTest | 12 | 19 | 699 | 214 | 43.68 | 1 | 4 |
| WODI | 232 | 211 | 7805 | 125* | 50.68 | 7 | 64 |
| WT20I | 89 | 84 | 2364 | 97* | 37.52 | 0 | 17 |
It is fair to say Mithali Raj is indeed a GOAT cricketer in Women’s Cricket history and to have her as a mentor for Gujarat Giants will play a very crucial role to groom the upcoming exciting future young woman stars of India. Her presence in the dugout may well make Gujarat the Champions of the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) in March this year.
