Journey from raising funds by selling pizza to Olympics: Brazilian cricket icon Roberta Moretti bids goodbye to international cricket.

brasilia: Former captain and veteran all-rounder Roberta Moretti, who took women’s cricket from the ground up in Brazil, has announced her retirement from international cricket. Moretti, who holds the record of playing the maximum number of 68 T20 International matches for Brazil, said goodbye to the cricket field forever on Thursday. Currently she is serving as the President of ‘Cricket Brazil’.

Shared journey by sharing emotional video

Roberta Moretti released an emotional video message on her official Instagram account remembering her 13-year long golden journey. She said, “It has been a very long and up-and-down journey, but now I feel the time has come to stop. When I picked up the bat for the first time in 2013, my only dream was to wear the Brazilian national team jersey. When that was accomplished, I wanted to win championships. But as we started winning, my aim became not just to win, but to learn the right values through the game and become a better person. I took this game for granted. Gave my all, and in return cricket has given me more than I expected.”

Used to sell pizza for funds: remembered the old days

Roberta Moretti also recalled the period when no one knew cricket in Brazil and players had to struggle for basic facilities.

The early struggle of Roberta Moretti’s life

Roberta Moretti said, “I am proud to have been a part of the era when we used to raise funds by selling lottery (raffle) tickets and pizzas just to play South American tournaments. Today, I feel happy that thanks to our hard work, cricket has been recognized as an Olympic sport. Every story has a cycle and this cycle of mine is now complete.”

Excellent career statistics

Debuts: Moretti made his international debut at the South American Championship held in the Peruvian capital Lima in March 2014, long before Brazilian cricket received official T20 status.

Best Records: He played the most number of 68 T20 matches for Brazil in history.

Allround Performance: During his career, he scored 1278 runs with strong batting and also took 33 wickets with his tight bowling.

Even after saying goodbye to international cricket, Moretti will continue to promote cricket at the grassroots level in Brazil as the board president.