BCCI: Coach Powar may be on his way out for removing Mithali

Ramesh Powar the Indian women’s cricket team coach will face flak for his faceoff with former skipper Mithali Raj and is unlikely to get an extension. A majority of the players back his method but it won’t be enough to change the outcome for the coach.

Mithali Raj was recently dropped from the team’s match against England during the World T20 Championship that took place in the West Indies.

Powar’s contract is ending on November 20 and a BCCI source said that the decision to discontinue the continue came up after the tense interaction between Mithali Raj and Powar, which according to them was affecting the overall morale of the team.

According to a report in the TOI , BCCI officials were unhappy about the fact that Powar decided to drop Mithali despite the fact that she was one of the best players on the team.

The board officials were also upset by the fact that the head coach couldn’t stand up against the external pressure to drop Mithali.

It is learnt that during Powar’s meeting with BCCI on his return from West Indies, the coach had no convincing answer to why and how Mithali became a middle-order batsman from being an opener after one match, and why she was dropped for the crucial semifinal match.

The board expected Powar to have a dialogue with Mithali before taking any decision, which didn’t happen. “Powar should have spoken to Mithali instead of dropping her straightaway after a phone call from Mumbai on the day of the match. This isn’t cricket,” said a source to TOI.

“Powar’s conflict with Mithali has ensured that he can’t continue as the coach of India,” the source added.

Powar was made women’s team’s head coach earlier in 2018.

Mithali reacted in a tweet on Thursday, November 29, by describing Powar’s comments about her as the “darkest day” of her life.

Mithali Raj on November 27, slammed the Committee of Administrators member Diana Edulji and coach Ramesh Powar for having a bias against her.

In a scathing email to the BCCI, Mithali said her axing from the World T20 semi final against England reduced her to tears and left her the most deflated in her over two-decade long career.

"...I felt deflated, depressed and let down. I am forced to think if my services to my country are of any value to a few people in power who are out to destroy me and break my confidence," Mithali, also the ODI captain, wrote in her mail.