We have moved on from our bitter past says Mithali Raj on her equation with Ramesh Powar

Despite her difference with Ramesh Powar, current Indian ODI skipper Mithali Raj seems to be on the same page with India’s newly appointed head coach and feels that likes or dislikes hardly matter when one is playing for the country. 

Mithali Raj who had publicly criticised Powar’s coaching credentials after the 2018 World T20 stated that both parties have moved on from the bitter past and hope to take the Indian Women’s team to greater heights in the future. 

“We can't be living in the past. I've played for so many years, I don't have an ego or I don't give attention to my personal likes and dislikes. I've never done that,” Mithali Raj was quoted as saying by PTI. 

"And 21 years has been a long time for me to sort of, you know, go through many challenges. When it comes to playing for India, it's like serving your country, so personal issues, I don't really give any weightage (to those)," she further added.

Following the conclusion of the 2018 T20 World Cup, Mithali Raj had written a letter to BCCI bashing both Ramesh Powar and Diani Edulji criticising them for misusing their power. 

“I felt deflated, depressed and let down. I am forced to think if my services to my country are of any value to a few people in power who are out to destroy me and break my confidence," Mithali had written in the letter. 

She had further expressed her disappointment in a Twitter post claiming that how disheartened she was after people questioned her commitment towards the game despite being an integral part of the Indian women’s team for two decades. Ramesh Powar had posted a cryptic tweet following Mithali’s claims where he had written, “Forgive others not because they deserve forgiveness but because you deserve peace.”

However, Mithali’s recent interview with the PTI suggests that the two have moved on and are doing every bit to make sure that the India manage to take their cricket to a new level. Mithali Raj said that after playing for India for over two decades she doesn't like to carry any baggages. 

"You need to think about the bigger picture. That's how I am. There are so many things that have happened in the past, but I don't carry that baggage into my present or in the future,” Mithali said. 

The Indian women’s team will be travelling to England in a short while for their first-ever Test match since 2014. With the team in quarantine ahead of the tour of England which will comprise of a solitary Test and three ODIs and T20Is each, Mithali revealed that there were several zoom calls discussing the upcoming tour. 

With the 50 overs World Cup slated to be held in New Zealand in 2022, Mithali said that the primary goal of the team is to win the tournament and everyone needs to be on the same page in order to achieve the goal. 

"He is the coach, and he has his set of plans, it's important that both of us are aligned on the same page to take the team forward. Because even his goal is the same: that the team does well in the World Cup. It's everybody's goal in the team," Mithali said.

"We can't be bitter and carry the bitterness. I've never been a confrontational person, nor am I someone who carries the past into the present. Otherwise, I wouldn't have survived for so long in a sport, which clearly needs re-inventions and revisions all the time. It's important that we are on the same page and take the team along because we are at a very crucial phase of our preparation for the World Cup,” she further added.