WV Raman slams 'prima donna' culture in the women's team; writes to Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid
Former head coach of the Indian women's cricket team, WV Raman, has lambasted the 'prima donna' culture in the squad in an extensive letter addressed to BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and National Cricket Academy (NCA) chief Rahul Dravid.
On Thursday, the board named Ramesh Powar as the new coach of the women’s team, replacing Raman, who held the position from December of 2018.
According to Cricbuzz, the former India cricketer, in his letter to Sourav Ganguly, expressed his concerns about the culture in the women's team.
"Some people in the system have been highly accommodated to the extent of being seemingly obsequious to an accomplished player for years. If that performer feels constrained to that culture, I would leave it to you to decide as a successful former captain if the coach was asking for too much," Raman wrote in the letter on Friday.
It will be extremely disconcerting if my candidature was rejected due to any other reasons: WV Raman
WV Raman said that it would be troubling if he was rejected as the head coach due to external factors. He stated in his letter that he didn't mind if he was denied the role due to his incompetence.
The former coach also took an indirect dig at a few players, alleging that they are more focused on achieving their own objectives. He is said to have used terms such as 'overall hygiene of women's cricket' and 'country's pride' in his feedback.
"If I were to be rejected due to my incompetence as a coach, there is no argument at all because that is a judgement call. But what will be extremely disconcerting is if my candidature was rejected due to any other reasons, especially due to allegations from people who are more focussed on achieving their personal objectives at the expense of the overall hygiene and welfare of the Indian women's team," wrote Raman.
With regard to his work ethic, WV Raman wrote that he always placed the team ahead of individuals.
"In my career spanning 20 years, I have always had a work culture in which the 'team comes first' and no individual was overriding the game or the team," wrote WV Raman.
The former left-hand batsman said he wrote the letter after due deliberation and added that he is ready to provide inputs if the BCCI intends to pursue any course correction.