BCCI hopes for continuity with women’s coach after Ramesh Powar’s appointment | Cricket News – Times of India

(Photo credit: Ramesh Powar Twitter)

NEW DELHI: Ramesh Powar’s appointment as the head coach of the Indian women’s team has ruffled a few feathers in Indian cricket. TOI has learned that a section of the Indian cricket board (BCCI) was happy with the way former coach WV Raman was handling the team.
“Raman had taken the team to the T20 World Cup final last year. He was forming a strong core pool of players. That’s a good performance. The Indian men’s team has persisted with Ravi Shastri for years despite not winning an ICC trophy. But the men’s team has always looked like winning a trophy. Continuity is important and hope Powar gets a longer run,” a senior BCCI official told TOI.
What has worried BCCI is the reports of players frequently falling out with coaches. Not just Raman, Powar too was removed as a coach after the team had made it to the semifinals of the T20 World Cup in 2018. At that time, senior player and ODI captain Mithali Raj had a major fall-out with Powar.
Now, with Mithali at the helm and likely to lead the team in the ODI World Cup in New Zealand in February 2022, this move could have the team on tenterhooks. It has been learned that Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) member Sulakshna Naik had pushed very hard for Powar’s appointment.
“There have been reports of a few players complaining to the selectors about Raman after losing to South Africa in the recent home series. But the selectors also need to be held accountable for the teams they select. This trend of players having issues with the coaches has got to be fixed,” the official added.
Need to groom women coaches
The BCCI and the National Cricket Academy (NCA) have started a programme to develop women coaches. A few women candidates were shortlisted but they fell behind because of the lack of expertise that comes with the experience of coaching in high performance sport.
“The NCA has started certification courses for women. It will take a couple of years to have expert women coaches. There is a need to hire female coaches for women’s teams. That will help them relate with the girls at a more personal level,” the official said.