The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday (May 13) appointed Ramesh Powar as the head coach of the Indian women’s cricket team. The former India spinner replaced WV Raman, who took over the charge in 2018 after Powar’s short stint came to an end.
Powar’s appointment was confirmed on the recommendation of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC). Madan Lal, RP Singh and Sulakshana Naik are three members of the CAC.
Soon after the BCCI made the announcement, Raman, the outgoing coach, sent his wishes to Powar and wished him for the spell. “All the best @imrameshpowar with the @BCCIWomen in this spell.. Look forward to seeing the girls soar under your guidance..,” he wrote on Twitter.
This will be Powar’s second stint with Team India. He had replaced Tushar Arothe as the head coach in August 2018. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side had made it to the semi-final of the 2018 T20 World Cup under Powar.
Since it was a short-term appointment, the BCCI followed the procedure and invited applications for the job. Gary Kirsten was the top preference of the previous CAC. Since he was with the IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore, he couldn’t take up the role.
Under Raman, India won four out of five 50-over series. The Women in Blue did struggle in the shortest format at the start but bounced back strongly and made it to the final of the T20 World Cup, where they lost to Australia.
Powar has his task cut out as India are set to tour England next month. The tour will kick off with a one-off Test match. Team India hasn’t played a red-ball fixture since 2014.
The Test match will be followed by 3 ODIs and as many T20Is. The selection panel is likely to name the squad for the England tour by the end of the week.
