India captain Mithali Raj Women Wednesday received the Padma Shri Pranab Mukherjee, President Award in New Delhi. Along with Raj, an economist Bibek Debroy, musician Ravindra Jain, Information Technology (IT) TV personality Mohandas Pai and Saba Anjum hockey player were awarded the Padma Shri.
Mithali earlier had said she never expected the prestigious honor of cricketers men being in competition all the time. “Honestly, when pitted against Virat Kohli, I gave up, because when we compare with cricket men then think we can not get it. So I did not expect, but it came as a pleasant surprise,” said Mithali PTI .
Mithali has played 153 one-day internationals, 10 tests and 47 Twenty20 International (T20Is) to India since debuting in 1999.
“This (the national awards) is a good way to appreciate your efforts. For a moment I started playing cricket, there was no awareness for cricket women. People were not even knowing that there was women’s cricket . And from that stage today where people want to follow cricket women, I think we’ve come a long way, “said Mithali.
“These awards will really bolster girls and players to take up the sport and do much better. With this award, probably people will be following women’s cricket deeply and take note of the international calendar of women,” he added.
Mithali Raj is the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team. She was a consistent performer in 2014 even though her team failed to make it into the semis of the Women’s World T20.
Padma Shri (also Padmashree) is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. It is awarded by the Government of India. The award is announced every year on Republic Day.
