Overwhelming to see the reception at home, says Mithali Raj

At 3:45 am on Wednesday morning, the Chattrapati Shivaji International Airport erupted in raucous applause for Mithali Raj and her team, who returned from the World Cup in England as heroes. The unearthly hour couldn’t prevent fans from welcoming the side, who have won hearts with their indomitable spirit in the last one month.

Mithali, along with coach Tushar Arothe, spoke to the press after their arrival:

On the ravenous welcome for the players

It is quite overwhelming to see this kind of reception. It is a first of its kind for all of us. I experienced something similar, but lesser in 2005 [after the World Cup], but we were not under the BCCI then. At that timeI wondered had we been under BCCI, what kind of feedback would we have got.

It is good to see that it is such a huge thing back home, and the girls must have been happy with the response. It is just the beginning, and good times are ahead for women’s cricket.

On Indian women’s team finally getting recognition

I think they always deserved it, now with broadcasting and televising, and us coming under the BCCI, it has helped a lot.

You can always attract more viewers and followers by televising matches. Not just us, the other women from the other teams have put up a really good standard of cricket, which will promote women’s cricket globally for people to watch.

The women's team is finally gaining recognition

On the possibility of a women’s IPL

If you had asked me this a couple of years back, I would have said no. But, since the World Cup, we have seen that women have taken the game to a different level: 300+ scores, centurions, and five-wicket hauls have been there on each team.

A reason for that is the leagues in Australia and England. Even a couple of our girls have gone there to improve their standards, and have done well for us. If something like that is started in India, because the base is done, it will help the domestic players. But then again, the decision rests with the board.

As a player, I believe that the domestic players, if exposed to a good tournament and the chance to interact with international players, will be benefitted.

If this is the most satisfying point of her career

For me, every match is satisfying where we pull off a win from nowhere. Even winning in 2005 was a defining moment in my career, because that was the first time the Indian team reached the finals. We’ve taken things one step at a time to reach where we are now.

The challenges of leading the side

It is not an easy job to lead the side in such a big tournament. There are bound to be critics: constructive criticism is always welcome. We always introspect after the game: where the team and I can do better. If I start listening to everyone’s opinion, my mind won’t work. It is always better to listen to yourself and the team, not others who question my captaincy.

Being the captain of the ICC Team of the Tournament is a privilege, but I would have preferred to be the winning captain. It didn’t materialise.

I am really happy with the way the team has performed. The captain is what the team is, otherwise there is no captain.

If this is a watershed moment for women’s sport in India

This is the first time a team sport has garnered so much attention other than men’s cricket. You’ve seen individual sport always getting mileage because there are one or two players to focus on. But in a team sport, despite having two-three good players, we don’t get so much attention.

It feels nice because we play cricket and it is a religion. We are really happy that we have defined women’s sport in India, especially a team sport. I would love to see many more team sports getting into the limelight. This is probably a start.

Changes in the domestic structure

The BCCI has tried to develop the U-16 level, that is the basic level for the girls to come in and perform. There are changes in the domestic structure to develop quality players. I have played U-16 and U-19 myself, and they are planning to put in U-23 as well.

There is a huge gap between international and domestic cricket, which will narrow soon with the players having access to the facilities provided by the states. It is just a matter of playing more.

If the team is satisfied with the cash reward of Rs. 50 lakh

(Chuckles) I have been playing since 1999, when there were no monetary benefits. You should ask them [the younger members], who have come now.

On how they recovered from the 2013 World Cup loss

After the bad performance in the 2013 World Cup, despite being the hosts we couldn’t qualify for the Super 6; we had to improve. All the girls, including me, worked really hard for this World Cup.

We will put the same effort for the T20 World Cup, because it is a different format. It will be challenging because India has a long way to go in T20s. We will be looking forward to putting a better performance than the last one.