Over and out for Mithali Raj in T20Is?

The disappointing end to Women in Blue's campaign in the T20 World Cup has led to questions being asked on the future of the team's most experienced player, Mithali Raj.

The talismanic batter was dropped in the crucial semifinal against England in Antigua, with the team management favouring an off-spin bowling all rounder in Anuja Patil. However, the big call—which might well be an indicator of a life without Raj in Indian women's cricket in near future—boomeranged, with most of the batters struggling on the slow turner in Antigua. India scored a paltry 112 and its woes while defending it worsened, with the spinners unable to get their length right. The England batswomen showing big match preparedness and temperament, adapting with ease to the spin-dominated Indian attack.

Raj's T20 international career is staring at a dead end after the manner in which she was picked and dropped by the Indian team management during the T20 World Cup.

Raj's glaring absence from the playing XI in the semifinal against England was the topic of debate at the match post-mortems. It is no secret that the batting stalwart, who is in the twilight of her career, was playing her last T20 World Cup. It's also no secret that she took her time adapting to the format, which came much later in her two decade-long career. However, the manner in which Raj has gone about in the ongoing competition at the top of the order, scoring two back-to-back half centuries, has come for more appreciation than brickbats.

Former players have slammed the decision to leave out Raj from such a crucial match where the inexperience of the team and its over dependence on Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur stood out starkly. They say that Raj should have been informed of what the team management had in mind for her before the start of the T20World Cup, as was done in case of bowler Jhulan Goswami.

Goswami had called it a day in the T20 format earlier this year but is still contracted with the BCCI, and is available for selection in the ODIs.

Said former India player Mamatha Maben, “She is a vastly improved player in the T20 format now. She has a strike rate of 90-100. A player like that is needed to play the sheet anchor's role. In tournaments like the World Cup, Mithali's maturity comes in. A player of her calibre should go out on a high. You can't treat her like this. If she was not be considered in the scheme of things in the World Cup, then that should have been conveyed to her by the selectors. If that was the case then she should not have been in the squad of 15, and if she has been picked, then she should figure in the playing XI.”

Another former India cricketer Jaya Sharma said, “I am only guessing that excluding Mithali is about the kind of mindset and vision the team management is having. Dropping such a seasoned player has got to be only about that. I don't see any other reason for this decision,” she said, adding that the decision to exclude Raj cost Team India dearly eventually.

“Mithali would not have been expecting this (being dropped from the playing XI). The fact that the team management had played her earlier in the tournament is indicative of the fact that she was part of their plans,” said the former India opener.

On her part, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur defended the decision to exclude Raj from the semifinal. “It's not about not selecting Mithali. It's about keeping a winning combination,” said the Indian skipper after the toss.

Raj's manager, Annisha Gupta, lashed out at Harmanpreet on Twitter after the loss, calling her a "manipulative, lying, immature, undeserving captain" and also said the women's team believed in "politics not sport".

Raj has played 85 T20Is and scored 2,283 runs. She has scored 17 half centuries and has an average of 37.42 with a highest score of 97 not out. She was averaging 53.50 in the ICC Women's World T20. Her career strike rate hovers around 96 in this format and as per statistician Rajneesh Gupta, her strike rate has been 103.86 in the two innings she has played in the tournament.

She was part of the playing XI in the first match of the tournament against New Zealand but did not bat as the team management decided to promote wicket keeper Tania Bhatia instead as an opener. Raj played the next two matches against Pakistan and Ireland as the opener, scoring two half centuries. She was left out of the squad in the match against Australia and while India won the match, it had already booked its place in the last four.

Going into a crucial knockout match against a strong England team was always going to be a tough outing for the team. “Leaving Mithali out was indicative of the fact that the team management was confident of defending any total but they failed to execute their plans in the middle,” said Sharma.