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‘I did everything I could for India’: Poonam Raut on retirement and unfinished dream

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Raut decided to step away after spending four years attempting to regain a spot on the national team following her final international appearance in 2021. Along with the national selectors favoring younger talent, recent bouts of pneumonia and dengue severely obstructed her physical recovery and training. Across her 73 One-Day Internationals, she accumulated 2,299 runs and solidified her legacy on the world stage. Now shifting her ambitions off the pitch, she plans to dedicate her time to guiding the emerging players she has mentored in recent years.

Key points

  • National selectors shifting focus toward younger players contributed directly to Raut's c…: National selectors shifting focus toward younger players contributed directly to Raut's choice to retire.
  • Physical setbacks involving dengue and pneumonia effectively prevented her from mounting…: Physical setbacks involving dengue and pneumonia effectively prevented her from mounting an international comeback.
  • Raut is transitioning out of active competition to focus on coaching and mentoring younge…: Raut is transitioning out of active competition to focus on coaching and mentoring younger cricket talent.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Poonam Raut spent four years trying to get back into the Indian team. She scored runs in domestic cricket, recovered from illness and worked towards a comeback. But the call never came.

Her last international appearance was in 2021. When Raut announced her retirement earlier this month, it was not because she had stopped wanting to play for India. It was because she had begun to realise that the return she had been working towards might not happen.

“I always had the desire to return to the Indian team,” Raut tells TimesofIndia.com. “Unfortunately, that didn't happen.”

Raut represented India for more than 12 years, scoring 2,299 runs in 73 ODIs. Her career included an 86 against England in the 2017

Women's World Cup final and a world-record 320-run opening partnership with

Deepti Sharma against Ireland that year.

India lost the World Cup final at Lord's by nine runs, but the campaign helped change how women's cricket was viewed in the country. For Raut, the memories go beyond the runs. She remembers messages from young girls whose parents had begun encouraging…

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