Feel sorry for Mithali Raj, says Sunil Gavaskar

Ever since Indian women’s ODI and Test captain Mithali Raj has come back and reported to the officials about the mistreatment she faced as the member of the national team, she has found support from various quarters. The latest voice which has backed her is that of former India captain Sunil Gavaskar who said she felt sorry for a player who served Indian cricket for two decades.

Controversy erupted after Mithali was left out of the team for the crucial semi-final against England in the Women’s World T20 in Windies on a difficult pitch and India went on to lose the game by 8 wickets to crash out of the tournament. Although India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur justified the move and said she had no regrets, it was Mithali’s manager Annisha Gupta who blasted the captain in a tweet in which she called Harmanpreet “manipulative, lying, immature, undeserving”.

Though the tweet was deleted, the damage had already been done. Thereafter came Mithali’s long letter to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in which she brought allegations of mistreatment against coach Ramesh Powar. She also said that she was not aware till the last moment that she was not in the team in the England game. Mithali also accused Supreme court-appointed administrator Diana Edulji of bias.

“I feel sorry for Mithali. She has a very good point.. She has served Indian cricket for 20 years. She scored runs.. she won player of the match in both matches (she played at the World T20),” Gavaskar told India Today.

You have to pick your best player

“She was injured for one game but fit for the next game. Just convert this situation into the men’s game. If you had a Virat Kohli who was injured for one game and then is fit for the knockout, will you leave him out? You have to pick your best player for the knockouts.. You needed the experience and expertise of Mithali Raj,” the legendary batsman said.

Gavaskar said it was difficult to make a remark on Powar’s role from a distance but said he disagreed with the decision to drop Mithali.

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