100 of the Most Influential Women in Sport >> Athletes

Mithali Raj, India

Cricket

Mithali Raj is the only captain, male or female, to lead India in two separate ODI World Cup finals, though she finished on the losing side in both 2005 and 2017. She’s the leading run-scorer in the history of women’s cricket, with those exploits helping her take the mantle from players like Anjum Chopra and inspiring a new generation of cricketers in India. Just ask anyone in the current generation, and they’ll rave about how they look up to her. Thanks to her own prodigious skill with the bat, and the timing of her career, Raj has been able to raise the profile of women’s cricket like no one before her. Billboards, endorsement deals, and TV ad campaigns were alien concepts to the previous generation of female cricketers in India – and indeed, for Raj herself, earlier in her career. Now, though, she’s one of the most recognisable faces in Indian cricket. And at 36, she’s still going strong, holding a top-five ODI batting ranking and scoring nearly 1000 runs across formats over the last year.

– Named 12th-most powerful woman in sport in Forbes’ inaugural list in 2018.

– Holds the women’s record for captaining a side in the most ODIs, with 123.

– She’s India’s leading scorer in ODIs and T20Is.

Did you know…

Mithali Raj and Sachin Tendulkar made their India debuts at nearly identical ages: Raj was 16 years, 250 days, while Tendulkar was 16 years, 205 days.

“I had no choice but to boss up and create my own lane” – Raj on her cricket journey

Twitter: @M_Raj03

Instagram: mithaliraj