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Days after BCCI put out an advertisement to hire a new head coach for the Indian women’s team, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, two of India’s senior-most players, have strongly urged the board to stick with Ramesh Powar, who had coached the side till November 30.
In an e-mail sent on Monday to the BCCI, Harmanpreet and Mandhana, the captain and vice-captain of the T20I team, said Powar had a very positive impact on the team since he was appointed as the interim head coach in September, and that he should carry on till the 2020 World Cup.
Powar’s contract was until November 30, but the BCCI decided not to give the year-long extension which was contingent on a positive appraisal. Instead, the BCCI opted to advertise for the head coach position, with interviews scheduled for December 20.
Harmanpreet and Mandhana marked the e-mail to the two-member committee of administrators (CoA), Rahul Johri (BCCI CEO), Saba Karim (head of women’s cricket) as well as the three BCCI office bearers. Both players were unavailable for comments so it could not be ascertained what exactly prompted them to send out the e-mail.
However, ESPNcricinfo understands that the players wanted to let the BCCI top brass know about Powar’s impact on the team, despite him getting embroiled in the controversy related to the omission of Mithali Raj from the semi-final of the World T20. Raj had accused Powar of trying to “destroy” her career, and Powar replied saying Raj had threatened to retire if she was not allowed to open in the World T20.
After India lost to England in the semi-final, Harmanpreet said it was a collective decision to leave out Raj. ESPNcricinfo understands that both Harmanpreet and Mandhana reiterated that point in the letter, saying all decisions about the playing XI for all matches at the World T20 were unanimous and were always taken in the interests of the team. They also pointed out that the final XI was agreed upon by the captain, vice-captain, coach and selector on tour.
However, the main emphasis of the email was on the impact Powar has had on the team during his short stint. It is understood that Harmanpreet and Mandhana pointed out to the BCCI that with India’s next international assignment, bilateral tour of New Zealand, was in January, and the World Cup in 15 months, India could not afford change another coach. Incidentally, Powar had replaced Tushar Arothe, who resigned in July.
Harmanpreet and Mandhana said that Powar’s biggest strength was he had got all players – seniors and juniors – into a state of mind where they played to win. Powar, the pair said, had changed the approach of the team and made the players gain immense self-belief
Nagraj Gollapudi is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo
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