Raman’s ouster opens up Pandora’s box in women’s cricket

Raman believes he can contribute towards building a roadmap for Indian women’s cricket

Archie Little

Ground Report | New Delhi: If you thought transparency is an issue to be discussed in Indian men’s cricket, then you are wrong. The recent change in coach of the country’s women’s cricket team when WV Raman was replaced with Ramesh Powar has brought both the Madan Lal-headed Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) and Neetu David-led selection panel under the scanner.

Raman has written to BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, alleging that there is a “prima donna culture” in the national team and it needs to change. The mail was marked to National Cricket Academy (NCA) head Rahul Dravid too.

The stylish former left-hander’s letter to the two former India captains is learned to have mentioned extensively about the star culture that prevails in the team, which he said is probably doing more harm than good.

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Dismayed by allegations that he is not proactive as a coach, Raman has recalled how he oversaw three training sessions (for Trailblazers, Velocity and Supernovas) between 1 and 9 pm in humid UAE conditions during the last T20 challenge.

“What is important is that the smear campaign seems to have gained some unwarranted traction with some BCCI officials which needs to be halted permanently. I am prepared to give an explanation should you or any of the office bearers require it.”

“If I were to be rejected due to my incompetency as a coach, there is no argument on a judgment call at all. But what will be extremely disconcerting is if my candidature was rejected due to any other reasons,” the former India opener who played 11 Tests and 27 ODIs between 1988 and 1997, said.

“Especially if it was due to allegations from people who were more focussed on achieving their personal objectives at the expense of the overall hygiene and welfare of the Indian women's team and the pride of the country,” he added.

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Sources claim that Raman had red-flagged the kind of squad that David, Arati Vaidya, Renu Margrate, Mithu Mukherjee and V Kalpana picked for the South Africa series, for which teen batting sensation Shafali Verma was not picked for the ODIs and senior pacer Shikha Pandey was inexplicably dropped.

Raman sincerely believes that he can contribute towards building a roadmap for Indian women’s cricket.

“I have some suggestions that might help in the improvement of women's cricket. I will be delighted to share those if you are interested,” he winded off.

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