Mithali had accused Powar and the Committee of Administrators (COA) member Diana Edulji of bias against her in a letter to the BCCI last week.
India women’s T20 cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur and her deputy Smriti Mandhana have come in support of the team’s former coach Ramesh Powar, who was accused of bias by legendary Mithali Raj.
They also requested the cricket board to renew’s Powar’s contract as coach of the Indian women’s team so that they can carry on the momentum gathered during his tenure,
This comes a day after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) invited fresh applications for women’s cricket team coach to replace Powar, whose contract ended after the recent ICC World T20 tournament.
On a day when Mithali turned 36, both Harmanpreet and Smriti shot off separate mails to BCCI in praise of Powar, terming him a great team man who helped the side win 14 consecutive matches before that crushing loss in the semifinals of the World T20.
Mithali had accused Powar and the Committee of Administrators (COA) member Diana Edulji of bias against her in a letter to the BCCI last week.
“Sir Ramesh Powar not only improved us as players but did motivate us to set targets and challenge our own limits. He has changed the face of Indian women’s team both technically and strategically. He has inculcated in us the sense of winning,” Harmanpreet wrote in her mail on Monday, a copy of which is with DNA.
About the exclusion of Mithali from the semifinal playing eleven, Harmanpreet wrote that it was based on cricketing logic and was a unanimous decision by the team management.
“Keeping in mind the need of the hour where me, Smriti, the selector (Sudha Shah) and the coach together in the presence of our manager felt that we should go ahead with the winning combination,” she wrote.
Mandhana’s letter too spelt out similar content.
“All the meetings that were held with respect to playing eleven for all the matches came to a unanimous decision, which was taken by captain, vice captain, coach and selector in presence of our team manager Trupti Bhattacharya,” she wrote.
Both the players have requested the BCCI top brass to stop their search for a new coach in order to ensure that the team carries on the momentum gathered during Mumbaikar Powar’s short three-month tenure.
“Since we are merely a month away from the New Zealand series and hardly 15 months from the next T20 World Cup in Australia, his (Powar) guidance and inputs will be helpful for the team to perform well. It is important for the Indian cricket’s growth that everybody is on the same page and I believe that differences can be amicably resolved via discussion,” Mandhana wrote.
Powar, in his report submitted to BCCI, accused Mithali of ignoring her role and batting for own milestones during the course of the ICC World T20.
In his e-mailed report on India’s performance in the tournament, Powar claimed that the senior player gave “minimum inputs in team meetings,” and, “not a single word of appreciation came from her after finishing at the top of the table”.
Powar, who replaced Tushar Arothe in July as interim coach, wrote: “Mithali was struggling to score quickly in practice matches as wickets were low bounce and slow. The intent was missing. Could not lean and execute shots due to limited ability in skills and fitness.”
Powar also mentioned how trainer Biju George gave him the feedback that “Mithali wasn’t interested in fielding drills”.
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 "Mithali Raj, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur")
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