Personal equations don’t matter when you’re playing for India: Mithali Raj

New Delhi, May 30 (PTI): Personal likes or dislikes don’t matter when one is playing for the country, India’s Test and ODI captain Mithali Raj said on Sunday, insisting that she and head coach Ramesh Powar have “moved on” from a bitter past to take the team forward.
Mithali and Co. are currently quarantining in Mumbai ahead of the UK tour, which is expected to provide a big push to the team’s preparations for the ODI Word Cup in New Zealand early next year.
The full-fledged series comprising India’s first Test in seven years will also be Powar’s first assignment as head coach. The former India spinner returned to the role after being sacked following India’s semifinal defeat in the 2018 World T20.
Mithali was controversially dropped from that game and relations between the two went south with both accusing each other of unprofessional conduct. Asked if their past will come in the way of their present and future, Mithali told PTI, “…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.” “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 said.
The 38-year-old is a torchbearer of women’s cricket for more than two decades and doesn’t like to carry 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.”