The former Indian cricketer Madan Lal fumes over Ramesh Powar’s removal as the head coach of Indian women’s cricket team. He feels that the controversy should not have arisen as he feels that Mithali Raj’s exclusion from the playing XI during the semi-final of 2018 ICC Women’s World T20 was just a simple decision.
After the Indian women’s team lost that game against England women, Mithali Raj 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 while the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has just started to find the new head coach.
Madan Lal spoke on this according to ANI, “If you keep removing coaches, it would be better to keep a dummy, who listens and acts according to the players. Coach is part of the team and takes decisions which should be abided by the team. The coach (Powar) also wanted to win only and the captain (Harmanpreet Kaur) was also part of it. Why was Powar alone targeted? Selectors are also part of the decision. It was unnecessary to remove Powar. Like this, the game won’t move ahead.”
On this matter, the 1983 World Cup-winning member Madan Lal took the example of Indian men’s cricket team’s head coach Ravi Shastri.
Lal added, “If tomorrow Ravi Shastri makes someone sit out, will you remove him as well? Things do not work like this. They (coaches) too are under pressure. Performance is kept in mind, you do not make someone sit out randomly. I believe in performance, so the board should analyse.”
Mentioning that no one is bigger than the game, Lal claimed that there was no guarantee to win that semi-final if Mithali Raj played that game.
The former World Cup-winning Indian cricketer added, “No one is bigger than the game. Was there any guarantee that the Indian team would have reached final if Mithali Raj was in the playing XI. This is a team game, not an individual game. I always believe that the captain and the coach have the supreme authority. They had taken the decision after looking at the condition.
“Once we start making the player bigger than the game, then these kinds of controversies arise. It is the call of the coach and captain. Sometimes, I do believe that an experienced player (Mithali Raj) should have played but they (coach and captain) must have taken the decision with prior thinking and analyses. So, sometimes the decision is good, sometimes the decision back fires.”
Also read: Mithali Raj Reveals The Darkest Day Of Her Life, Ramesh Powar Trolled
Lal was also asked about his view on Raj’s letter to the BCCI demanding justice.
Lal replied, “If she has written it then let the board decide. Whatever the report they give, the board has to look into. I don’t think there should be any controversy the way they are coming out in the media. Like this, you cannot build the team. You have to trust the coach and the captain. If they are not doing well, then selectors can come in and take the decision.”
Also read: Sunil Gavaskar Feels Sorry For Mithali Raj
In the meantime, Powar also claimed that they felt Mithali should open with Taniya Bhatia after failing to score quick runs in earlier practice games.
Lal said on that, “This is not a 50-over match, it is T20. If you waste 6-7 overs, then your team is already under pressure. I will go by the captain and the coach. Whatever decision they had taken must be in terms of the team, and there was the selector also. Sometimes in sports, you have to take a hard decision, which is in terms of the team only. Powar is not Mithali’s enemy, the player should think how can she adjust in the T20 game and how can she perform better.”
Admitting the fact that Mithali is an experienced player, Lal feels that the exclusion was a simple decision and that controversy should not have arisen.
Lal quoted, “I also do agree that she is an experienced player and should have played but looking at the condition, I will go with the coach, the captain and the selectors. They simply took a decision. Now that they have lost, a controversy has built up. If there are any differences between Powar and Mithali, the board has to sort it out. Sitting here I cannot comment about Mithali or Powar’s attitude.
“Team players have to look and make sure how to survive and grow. The decision (taken during World T20) can be wrong or could have been right. Had they won (the semi-final against England), people would have said the decision was good. Things don’t work like this. The controversy should not have arisen.”
