Mithali Raj criticised for not speaking Tamil, shuts troll like boss

Mithali Raj. (Photo: IANS)


Indian women’s team captain Mithali Raj appears as one of the calmest and composed individuals of the game and it was established more so after she shut a troll with befitting replies.

After she shared a tweet from Sachin Tendulkar where the former cricketer hailed the Indian women’s team series-victory against South Africa. Tendulkar also acknowledged Raj’s captaincy skills and congratulated her for completing 20 years in international cricket, a unique achievement that both the cricketers share.

Taking to her official Twitter handle, Raj shared Tendulkar’s post and wrote, “It feels nice to be acknowledged by a person who I have looked up to all my life .. thank you champion.”

While her fans, too, joined in to laud the Indian women’s team, a particular user tried to get under her skin. Out of nowhere, he questioned Raj’s linguistic preferences and commented, “She doesn’t know Tamil. She will speak in English, Telugu, Hindi.”

Despite many coming in the cricketer’s defense and correcting the user that Tamil is what she speaks in at her home, the user did not pay any heed and went about with his baffling criticism of her.

But Raj did not buy all these and replied with a Tamil tweet saying that it was her mother tongue and pointed out that above everything she was a proud Indian.

Mithali Raj is often regarded as the greatest cricketer to have graced the women’s game and her records speak volumes about that. She is the highest run-scorer in Women’s One Day Internationals (WODIs) and is the only female cricketer to cross the 6000 run mark in the said format. She is also the first cricketer from India (male of female) to score 2000 runs in Twenty-20 Internationals (T20Is).

The 36-year-old is the only Indian cricketer who has led the team to two ICC World Cup finals (2005 and 2017). In February this year, she became the first woman cricketer to play 2000 WODI matches during a series against New Zealand. During India women’s latest series against South Africa, she completed 20 years in international cricket.