A look back at the feud between Ramesh Powar and Mithali Raj in 2018
Former cricketer Ramesh Powar's name was recommended by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) for the role of head coach of the Indian women's cricket team. On Thursday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officially appointed him for the post.
But this isn't the first time Powar has come into power. His latest appointment reminds us of his controversial tenure in 2018.
The unfolding of the saga
After Tushar Arothe's resignation as head coach of the Indian women's cricket team in, Ramesh Powar came in as an interim replacement in August 2018. He was eventually handed full-time duties which he retained upto November of the same year.
Everything looked good under Powar's tutelage until the team landed in the West Indies for the 2018 T20 World Cup. In the tournament's opening game, Mithali Raj, was dropped from the Playing XI in spite of her experience as a senior member of the team.
Ramesh Powar cited Mithali's slow gameplay and lack of intent as the reasons for her exclusion. The head coach decided to use Raj and Taniya Bhatia in alternate games, even though Raj, the ODI captain, was adjudged the player of the match in India's second league game.
Despite scoring match-winning fifties in both the games that she played, Mithali Raj was sidelined for the semifinals against England, which India ended up losing.
Mithali Raj accuses Ramesh Powar of discrimination and bias
Following the incident, Mithali Raj accused Ramesh Powar of discrimination and bias in a letter addressed to the BCCI. She added that Powar had humiliated her during the T20 World Cup and that she was hurt being dropped from the team.
".... I would also like to point out that I have nothing against the T20 captain Harmanpreet Kaur except for the fact that her call to support the decision of the coach to leave me out of the eleven was baffling and hurtful. I wanted to win the world cup for my country and it hurts me because we lost a golden opportunity." an excerpt of her letter read.
A few hours after India's exit from the tournament, Mithali Raj's manager Annisha Gupta wrote the following in a tweet which was later deleted.
"Unfortunately @BCCIWomen believes in politics not sport. After witnessing what @M_Raj03's experience could do in IndvIre it's shocking that they went with what pleases @ImHarmanpreet -a manipulative, lying, immature, undeserving captain."
Madan Lal, the current head of CAC, backed Ramesh Powar back then
After returning from the West Indies, both Harmanpreet Kaur and Mithali Raj met with the CEO of BCCI, Rahul Johri. Considering all the arguments, Ramesh Powar's contract was not renewed. In December 2018, he was replaced by WV Raman.
Madan Lal, the current head of CAC, wasn't supportive of Powar being replaced at that point in time and made his disappoval known.
"If you keep removing coaches, it would be better to keep a dummy who listens and acts according to the players. The 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."
It will be interesting to see how things unfold between Ramesh Powar and Mithali Raj in the former's latest coaching stint. The women's cricket team will soon tour England for a multi-format series. Besides that, they will start preparing for next year's ODI World Cup as well.