The Indian women’s cricket team coach and senior player created a new controversy. The coach Ramesh Powars term ended on 30th November, T20 captain Harmanpreet Kaur and deputy Smriti Mandhana demanded his return.
The senior player Mithali Raj had accused the coach of being biased after she was not included in the T20 world cup semi-final. She accused Powar of humiliation, and was happy with his ouster. Mithali’s colleagues however wanted Powar to be reinstated as coach till the next T20 world cup in 2021.
The cricket administrators have received letters from both Kaur and Mandhana related to this issue.
The coach Ramesh Powar criticized Mithali Raj as she threatened that she would retire from the game if she was not given her preference in the batting order. Powar accused Raj for not adjusting to the new game plans, and suggested that she batted for own milestones.
This feud could well cost Mithali her captaincy for ODI and Tests. It would be interesting to see who the BCCI selects as coach, and if it would side with captain, other players or coach.