The longest women’s ODI career belongs to India’s legendary batter Mithali Raj, whose One-Day International journey spanned 22 years and 274 days from 26 June 1999 to 27 March 2022. Across those years, she carried a nation’s hopes, redefining consistency, longevity and leadership in women’s cricket.
Longest Women’s ODI Career: Numbers That Beat Even Sachin
When talking about the longest women’s ODI career, Mithali Raj’s record even surpasses some of the biggest names in men’s cricket. Her ODI span of 22 years and 274 days is officially recognized as the longest ODI career by any cricketer, male or female, stretching from her debut against Ireland in June 1999 to her final ODI at the 2022 World Cup in New Zealand.
In those 232 ODIs, she scored 7,805 runs at an average of 50.68, making her the only woman to cross both 6,000 and 7,000 ODI runs. Mithali also holds the record for most ODI appearances (232 matches), most innings (211), and a remarkable 71 scores of 50-plus, including seven centuries.
Longest Women’s ODI Career: From Teen Prodigy to ‘Queen of Indian Cricket’
The longest women’s ODI career began in style when a 16‑year‑old Mithali Raj scored an unbeaten 114 on debut against Ireland at Milton Keynes in 1999. That innings made her, at the time, the youngest player to score an ODI hundred in women’s cricket and set the tone for a career built on patience, timing and mental toughness.
Over the next two decades, she became the face of Indian women’s cricket, leading India to two World Cup finals (2005 and 2017) and playing in a record six Women’s World Cups overall. Her calm batting at No. 3 and 4 anchored countless Indian innings, often holding the lineup together while younger stroke-makers played around her.
Leadership, Records and Legacy
The longest women’s ODI career is also a story of captaincy and responsibility. Mithali captained India in 155 ODIs, the most by any woman, winning 89 of those matches and scoring over 5,300 runs as skipper—both all‑time records for a female ODI captain. Under her leadership, India’s women moved from relative obscurity to packed stadiums, primetime TV, and central contracts.
Her ODI best of 125* came against Sri Lanka in 2018, nearly 19 years after her debut, showing how the longest women’s ODI career was also about maintaining elite fitness and form deep into her 30s. By the time she retired in June 2022, she had amassed 10,868 international runs across formats, more than any other woman in cricket history.
What Mithali Raj’s Journey Means for the Next Generation
Beyond statistics, the longest women’s ODI career represents belief—for parents, for girls from small towns, and for every player who dreams of longevity in sport. Mithali Raj showed that a woman from Hyderabad could build a 22‑year international career, outlast icons like Sachin Tendulkar in ODI span, and still walk away with an average above 50.
For young cricketers, her story is a blueprint: strong basics, ruthless consistency, quiet leadership and an unshakeable love for batting. As women’s cricket grows through events like the WPL and expanded World Cups, the benchmark set by the longest women’s ODI career will remain a North Star for generations to come.
