Committee of Administrators (CoA) member Diana Edulji has asked for the clarification regarding the appointment of the women’s cricket team coach as she feels that it is unconstitutional and illegal.
Edulji, in a letter to CoA member Vinod Rai, pointed out that CoA members have been assigned the role to implement Lodha panel reforms and unilaterally taking the decision to appoint an ad-hoc committee for the appointment of the coach by Rai is unconstitutional and illegal.
As per the reports of Times of India, in her letter to Rai, Edulji said, “The entire process of selecting a qualified coach for women’s cricket team is unconstitutional. I reiterate that we have been assigned the role of implementing the Lodha reforms, which says the coach of the Indian team can only be appointed by the CAC. Your unilateral decision of appointing the ad-hoc committee is not only unconstitutional but also illegal.”
ALSO READ: BCCI Appoints WV Raman As The Head Coach Of Indian Women’s Team
Earlier, BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry had also warned Rai in a letter about the legal and financial consequences of the process that has ‘circumvented’ one member of the CoA. On Thursday, former India opener WV Raman has been elected as the coach of the Indian women’s cricket team and he was preferred over celebrated South African Gary Kirsten despite disagreement among the administrators over the selection process.
Raman is currently a batting consultant at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. Talking about the same, a BCCI official said, “Kirsten was the top choice for the BCCI ad-hoc selection committee but Raman got the job as the South African was not keen on giving up his plum job with Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore.”
The ad-hoc committee comprised former captain Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad, and Shantha Rangaswamy. They recommended three names — Kirsten, Raman, and Venkatesh Prasad in order of preference – to the Board, a reliable source of PTI said. Eventually, the BCCI picked Raman for the job.
Despite having a disagreement between the members of CoA the decision was made and hence, Edulji had to ask Rai to put the selection process on hold.
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Raman, who played 11 Tests and 27 ODIs, is now one of the most qualified coaches in the country. He has coached big Ranji Trophy teams like Tamil Nadu and Bengal and has also had a stint with the India U-19 team. From his cricketing days, Raman is best remembered for being the first Indian batsman to score a century in South Africa during the 1992-93 tour.
The BCCI invited fresh applications for the job after Ramesh Powar‘s brief stint as interim coach ended last month, in rather controversial circumstances. Powar too appeared for the interview. The Supreme Court-appointed COA has been divided over the coach selection process ever since fresh applications were invited.
While Edulji was consistently forcing to have Powar back, Rai instructed the BCCI top brass to invite fresh applications. Powar’s controversial stint ended on November 30 after a tussle with the ODI skipper Mithali Raj over selection issues. The board is now going ahead with the interview process.
