She Is An Accomplished Bharatnatyam Dancer

In an interview with the
Times of India in 2021, Raj admitted that her first love was not cricket but dancing! Once upon a time, she wanted to have a career in classical dancing. But destiny had something else in store for her.

She Became A Cricketer By Accident

Agencies

In a 2017 interview with
Mid-Day, Raj revealed that it was a chance encounter that led her to the world of cricket. Her father Doraj Raj, a retired air force officer wanted to ensure that she does not become lazy. So she had to accompany her father to sports coaching camp in Secunderabad. It was here that she gradually developed a passion for cricket. One day while playing, she caught the attention of cricket coach Jyothi Prasad who convinced her father to let him take her under his wing. And the rest as they say was history.

She later on thanked Prasad on social media for recognising her potential.

A Bookworm To The Core

Agencies

When she was not in her element on the cricket pitch, Raj was often spotted spending quality time with books. During the 2017 Women’s World Cup in the UK, she was seen deeply immersed in a copy of ‘The Essential Rumi’ (the works of Persian philosopher Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi) She was also seen browsing through the pages of ‘Playing with Fire’. The book is an autobiography of the former England men’s captain Nasser Hussain. In an interview with
India Today, she opened up about her passion for reading. “I am into reading a lot; even before getting into batting I am always with Kindle or books because it calms me down as well as and I don’t get those jitters (ahead of) just getting into batting,” she was quoted as saying to the English daily.

She Once Wanted To Be An IAS Officer

Agencies

In an interview with
Star Sports, the former cricketer revealed that she once aspired to be an IAS officer. “Honestly, cricket happened to me. It was not by choice. My dad took me to the academy which was only for girls. If at that time someone could ask a 10-year-old Mithali what (she wanted) to become, I would have said I wanted to be an IAS officer. Not a sportsperson or a dancer. I had it in me to be an IAS officer,” she said.