Mithali Raj vs Ramesh Powar: Latest Updates on Selection Showdown
Latest updates from the Mithali Raj vs Ramesh Powar controversy after Raj was dropped from the Indian WT20 team.
Indian ODI captain and the country’s highest-scoring T20 cricketer, Mithali Raj, finds herself in the middle of a controversy after she was dropped from the Indian team for the Women’s World T20 semi-final against England.
India lost the match, and after returning to the country, Mithali submitted her side of the story, alleging that coach Romesh Powar was behind the decision to leave her out of the playing XI. Powar, in his report, claims Mithali put her interests ahead of the team’s and even threatened to retire in the middle of the tournament if not allowed to bat her regular opening slot.
Here are the latest updates in the controversy:
Harman and Smriti Want Powar to Stay
On Monday, women’s T20 team captain Harmanpreet Kaur and her deputy Smriti Mandhana wrote emails to the BCCI asking for Powar’s tenure to be extended, despite his public spat with ODI captain Mithali Raj.
Committee of Administrators (COA) chairman Vinod Rai told PTI that Harmanpreet and Smriti have backed Powar to continue as coach till 2021. However, reports also suggest that Ekta Bisht and Mansi Joshi are against Powar’s reinstatement along with Mithali.
"I, as the T20 captain and ODI vice-captain is appealing before you to allow Powar to further continue as our team coach. There are hardly 15 months for the next T20 World Cup and a month to go for the New Zealand tour. The way he has transformed us as a team, I feel no reason to replace him," Harmanpreet wrote in the letter.
BCCI Invite Coach Applications
On Friday, the BCCI opened the application process for the new women’s team coach, effectively announcing the end of Ramesh Powar’s tenure.
One of the requirements listed by the BCCI was that the candidate should have the experience of coaching an international team for a period of minimum one season or a T20 franchise for minimum two seasons. The BCCI requirements also stated that the candidate should have "a proven ability to manage and interact with people from different backgrounds and cultures, should have represented India or any other country at international level or should be a NCA Level 'C' certified coach or have a similar certification from a reputed organisation/institute and a minimum of 50 FC games".
The interview of the candidates will be held on December 20 at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. The appointment will be a full time engagement and the contract term is for two years with age limit of 60 years.
Mithali 'Deeply Saddened'
“It's the darkest day of my life,” Mithali Raj tweeted, responding to coach Ramesh Powar's allegations that she threatened retirement over a batting position and threw tantrums during the WT20.
"I'm deeply saddened & hurt by the aspersions cast on me. My commitment to the game & 20yrs of playing for my country," she wrote.
Gavaskar Supports Mithali
Mithali found a supporter in Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar who said a player of her experience should not have been left out of a crucial match in the first place.
Coach Powar Says Mithali 'Threatened to Retire'
Women’s team coach Ramesh Powar, in his report to the BCCI, accused Mithali of throwing tantrums and creating chaos.
In a 10-page tour report that was almost entirely focussed on Mithali, he wrote, “I hope Mithali stops blackmailing, pressurising coaches and putting her interest first than the team.”
He also alleged that Mithali threatened to retire in the middle of the tournament over the decision to make her bat lower in the order.
“Video analyst Mr Pushkar Sawant came to my room with the news that fielding coach Mr Biju George conveyed to him that Mithali is upset about not changing the batting order & not allowing her to open in Pakistan match. She has packed her bags to leave with announcement of retirement in the morning,” wrote Powar.
Mithali Letter Leaked
In a letter to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and Cricket Operations GM Saba Karim that was leaked to the media, Mithali Raj said she was ‘being humiliated’ by coach Ramesh Powar during the World T20 and also hit out at CoA member Diana Edulji saying, ‘few people in power are out to destroy me’.
Mithali and Harman Meet BCCI Officials
Even as Edulji stated that the team selection could not be questioned, BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and GM (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim met T20 skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, Mithali Raj and the women’s team manager Trupti Bhattacharya on Monday.
"Yes, we (Johri and Karim) met Mithali, Harman and . All of them met us separately and put across their viewpoints. We have noted everything down," Johri told PTI.
Coach Ramesh Powar was scheduled to meet the board members on Wednesday.
Diana Says No CoA Intervention
While questions were being asked on weather the board would intervene, CoA member Diana Edulji said on Monday that the team management's selection decisions cannot be questioned.
Mithali's 'Manager's' Rant
Mithali’s omission or the skipper’s stand – one of the two triggered a Twitter tirade by Annisha Gupta, who claims to be a freelance consultant but was popularly considered to be the Mithali’s manager.
Calling Harmanpreet a "manipulative, lying, immature, undeserving captain,” Gupta said Raj’s exclusion had to do a lot with "politics” and not the sport.
Few hours later, neither the tweet nor the Twitter account was found on the internet. The account had been deleted, and soon enough, Gupta issued a ‘clarification’ insisting that while the tweets were posted by her, she was in no way associated with Mithali as her manager.
Mithali Dropped From S/F, India Lose
Unbeaten in the group stage, India were facing England in the semi-final of the Women’s World T20 last Friday in Antigua. Mithali had missed the last of the league matches due to an injury was expected to boost the Indian line-up against the team that had beaten them in the final of the ICC World Cup in 2017.
At the toss though, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur announced that India had elected to stick to the ‘winning combination’ and the country’s highest-scorer in T20 cricket would be sitting this one out.
The decision backfired terribly as the entire line-up managed to score just 112 and England charged to the total within 18 overs.
Despite the defeat, the captain said she did not regret her selection choices.
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