In the ongoing tension of Indian women’s cricket team, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has hit back the Committee of Administrators (CoA) chief Vinod Rai for taking the decision of Ramesh Powar’s future without consulting anyone.
Since the semi-final of 2018 ICC Women’s World T20 in West Indies that India women lost against the England women, Indian women’s cricket team has continuously come in news for various insider reasons.
Soon after the whole nation was shocked on Mithali Raj’s exclusion from the playing XI for the semi-final encounter in 2018 ICC WWT20, Raj wrote a letter to the BCCI demanding justice. In that letter, she lashed out on the head coach Ramesh Powar and Committee of Administrators (CoA) member Diana Edulji for being biased towards her.
On the other hand, Powar revealed that he was saddened by Raj’s attitude who threatened to announce retirement. Later, Powar didn’t get a new offer for his contract extension and the process of finding the new head coach has already begun. Power joined the team as a head coach in August 2018 and his term completed on November 30, 2018.
Recently, the Indian women’s T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and the vice-captain Smriti Mandhana wrote emails to BCCI where they requested to bring back Powar as a head coach of the team.
Talking on this matter, a senior BCCI official told CricketNext, “Firstly, who has taken this decision not to extend Ramesh Powar’s contract and invite applications for new women’s coach? Is it the BCCI or CoA? It is only one man, Vinod Rai in his capacity as the head of the CoA who has taken this decision arbitrarily, without consulting anyone in the BCCI or his colleague at the CoA (Diana Edulji).”
Also read: Madan Lal Fumes Over Ramesh Powar’s Exclusion
Though Powar is free to apply again for the coaching position, there is no news whether he is going to apply for it or not.
A close to CoA told CricketNext, “CoA have invited applications for the post of women’s coach. Powar is free to apply again. We are still waiting for all the applications to come in, before the CoA can sit down to decide.”
However, the BCCI officials are unsure on how the new coaching contract will be valid when the CoA’s tenure over as it hasn’t been consulted yet with the BCCI committee.
A BCCI official spoke on this matter, “How will this new women’s team’s contract will be valid when the CoA’s tenure is over and Rai has to hand over control to the new management? The women’s coach’s contract will be null and void because BCCI committees have not been consulted and now we know even captain and senior players are against the move.”
