Former India women's team skipper Mithali Raj on Tuesday announced retirement from T20 Internationals in order to focus on the 2021 ODI World Cup to be held in New Zealand.
Mithali led India in 32 T20Is, including the three Women's WT20 World Cups in 2012 (Sri Lanka), 2014 (Bangladesh) and 2016 (India).
"After representing India in T20 internationals since 2006, I wish to retire from T20Is to focus my energies on readying myself for the 2021 One Day World Cup," Raj said in a statement issued by BCCI.
"It remains my dream to win a World Cup for my country and I want to give it my best.
"I thank the BCCI for their continuous support and wish the Indian T20 team good luck as they prepare for the home series against South Africa Women," she added.
She was also the captain in India women's first-ever T20I played in Derby back in 2006. Since that win against England, Raj played another 88 games in which she scored 2364 runs, the most by an Indian woman in T20Is. The 36-year-old also holds the distinction of being the first Indian to reach the landmark of 2000 runs in T20Is.
Mithali finishes as the sixth highest run-scorer in the women’s T20 game with the highest career average of 37.52 of any woman to have scored more than 500 runs.
Those ahead of her in the women’s T20 game in terms of runs include Suzie Bates, Stafanie Taylor, Charlotte Edwards, Meg Lanning and Deandra Dottin.
Mithali played her last T20 international against England in Guwahati, where she scored an undefeated 30.
She also remains the only Indian to have scored more than 2000 runs in women’s T20 cricket.
With IANS inputs