'Reading helped me bat without any apprehension' - Mithali Raj

India's Mithali Raj, who recently announced her retirement from cricket last week, revealed the role of books in her career. Regarded as one of the best woman batters of all time, Raj amassed 7,805 ODI runs - the highest in women's cricket - 699 runs in Tests, and 2,364 runs in T20Is for India.

In an interview with News18, Raj said that reading a book before coming into bat eased her mind and kept much of the unnecessary noise away.

"It (reading) helped me to deal with the jitters I felt before a game. It helped me in not being predetermined when I walked out to bat because sitting out and watching the game; you tend to form your opinion about the bowling, the ball moving, etc. 

"Reading helped me walk in to bat without any apprehension. Reading also helped me to manage my emotions," Raj explained.

The former India captain was often seen reading a book near the boundary line during India's batting, which was often a talking point for commentators. The right-handed batter further stated that books would help her keep her emotions in check.

"There were times when I felt things were not under control. I felt emotions draining me; it could be anger, or irritability. I am not someone who is expressive. I keep the emotions to myself. There has to be an outlet. Books have helped me manage my emotions, and maintain my composure in the most challenging situations," the 39-year-old concluded.

Raj led India in 28 World Cup games, the most for any women captain.

The Jodhpur-born, who retired after playing 22 years and 274 days of cricket for India, stated that she has already started to detach herself from the game. 

She stated," People say retirement is hard. That's what I came to believe until a few years ago. Something my dad has always told me, and which I understood over the last six-seven years, was, 'don't get attached too much because when you get attached to something, to give it away will be difficult'. I slowly started to detach myself. 

Of course, I was very passionate about my game. But, I never saw it as a 'forever'. At some point, it will stop, and he made it very clear to me. It was not difficult for me. People find a huge change from playing to not playing. I don't see any change in me."