Mumbai: Overwhelmed by the warm reception on returning home after their memorable campaign at the ICC World Cup, Indian skipper Mithali Raj today said it is just a beginning of a good time for women's cricket.
"It's overwhelming to see such kind of reception, it's first of a kind for all of us, I faced kind of similar one in 2005, then we were not under BCCI," said Mithali, who guided India to the finals of the ICC Women's World Cup.
"I was wondering had we been under BCCI what kind of reaction we would get, girls would have enjoyed being received like that, it is just a beginning of a good time for Women's Cricket," she added. Raj and Co. received a rousing reception after their arrival here with fans turning out in big numbers at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
The Indian team finished as runner-ups in the quadrennial event after losing narrowly by nine runs against hosts England in the final last Sunday and the skipper said her team deserves every bit of accolades.
"They always deserved it, now because of broadcasting and televising of the game it is more, coming under BCCI has made a difference. I always believed if more matches are televised we can attract more people," said Raj, who became the leading run-scorer in women's One-day Internationals during the event.
"The way the girls have played, Indian and other teams have put up a good standard of cricket in World Cup and it has given impetus to women cricket globally, it has given us more positive feedback," she added.
Although Mithali was named as the captain of the ICC Team XI, the Indian skipper would rather have won the World Cup.
"Being named the captain of ICC Team XI is a privilege. I didn't expect it. But I would have preferred to be a winning captain. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. But the way team has done, I can proudly say that I have led the team well. All credit to the team because the way the girls have responded to the challenges, the way I have asked them to perform and motivated them," she signed off.
