Former Indian women’s cricket team captain and broadcaster Mithali Raj embodies grace shaped by discipline and years of sporting excellence. Even away from the cricket field, her commitment to wellness, balance, and purpose remains unwavering. On the occasion of the launch of Layers Privé, she speaks to CE about her lifestyle choices, self-care, and her evolving definition of success.
Excerpts
Your skincare routine?
Being a former athlete, I try to keep it very minimal. Travelling is exhausting, and during broadcasting we’re under lights for long hours. Moisturising, sunscreen, and cleansing are extremely important. I’ve gone through my fair share of trial and error and learnt a lot about my skin type. During my playing days, sunscreen was essential because I was outdoors for hours. Post-retirement, it’s not as intense.
Is it difficult for sportspersons to maintain their skin?
Definitely. When you spend hours training and playing matches — especially in an outdoor sport like cricket — it’s very challenging. You can’t really protect yourself from the sun, nor can you always choose training timings. Added to that, women deal with hormonal changes as they grow. All of this can be quite taxing when you’re an athlete.
What does your fitness regime look like now?
I switch between yoga and strength training. While I was playing, strength training was much more frequent during the week. Now, I limit it to about three times a week and balance it with yoga.
Do you follow a specific diet?
I don’t follow a strict diet, I never really did. But post-retirement, I’ve become more conscious about eating on time and valuing portion control. I’ve always believed in eating at the right time.
Your favourite cuisine?
Anything home-cooked. Because of constant travel, I end up eating outside food most of the time, so home food is something I truly enjoy.
Your fashion mantra?
Anything that I can carry with confidence and feel comfortable in.
Your favourite pastime?
Reading. I read a lot, and it’s something I do very often.
Any favourite book?
I’m into the fantasy genre. I recently fini
What keeps you motivated?
I love working in whatever capacity I can and staying connected to the sport. As a broadcaster and consultant, I’m motivated when I see young girls and can help structure a pathway for them to take up the sport professionally and achieve their goals.
How would you define success?
Success isn’t definite. You achieve one goal and then move on to the next, it’s a constant process. It also means different things to different people. When I was playing, success meant performing consistently. Now, as a broadcaster and mentor, success for me is seeing young girls achieve their goals, make a name for themselves, their family, or their state. That gives me immense happiness.
Tell us about your collaboration with Layers.
I’m quite excited and actually thrilled that they’ve opened their 20th clinic. That itself shows how strong they are in their approach towards people and how much they value wellbeing along with delivering results. There’s a lot of trust among people, and that reflects in the way they are expanding. I was taken on a tour of the clinic and introduced to a couple of machines that are fairly new. You don’t really find them easily in our city; in fact, there are probably very few in the country. That exclusivity and access to advanced treatment options really stood out.