BCCI appoints Ramesh Powar as head coach of Indian women’s cricket team

This is Ramesh Powar's second stint as the head coach of the Indian women’s cricket team. He had served as the head coach in 2018, which was marred by a rift between him and senior player Mithali Raj.

Ramesh Powar along with Harmanpreet Kaur (BCCI/File Photo)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday appointed former India spinner Ramesh Powar as the head coach of Indian women’s cricket team. The cricket governing body released an official statement in this regard. 

As per the release, the three-member Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Sulakshana Naik, Madan Lal and RP Singh unanimously agreed on Powar’s candidature.

Powar has represented the Men In Blue in 31 ODIs and has also made two international red-ball appearances. He has also served as the head coach of the Indian women’s cricket team in 2018, which was marred by a rift between him and senior player and skipper Mithali Raj.  

The current ODI skipper, who has hinted that 2022 could be her final cricketing year as a player, had then accused Powar of discrimination and had wrote a letter to the BCCI. She had also mentioned instance of humiliation towards her during the World T20s in West Indies.

Meanwhile, under Powar's short stint as a coach of the Indian women's team, Mithali and co. had qualified for the semi-final of the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup in 2018 and had bagged 14 T20I wins in a row.

He also coached the Mumbai senior team, which won the Vijay Hazare Trophy and also has experience of working at the National Cricket Academy as a bowling coach.