Head coach of the Indian women's team, Ramesh Powar on Wednesday (November 28) denied reports that he had admitted to having a “strained” relationship with Mithali Raj in a meeting with BCCI officials.
Powar's first response in the wake of the ongoing controversy, related to Raj's exclusion from the playing XI for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup semi-final against England and the subsequently leaked email from the great player, absolutely bemoaned the report that was published by PTI.
Citing an anonymous BCCI official as the source of the news, the Press Trust of India had carried a report earlier in the day stating that Powar had admitted that his professional relationship with Raj was strained and there were genuine issues between the two over player management.
But, soon after the report was published by the news agency, Powar denied claims and the contents of the story through social media network, Twitter.
I was shocked to read PTI story about my meeting with the BCCI officials. I totally deny the contents in the story.
— ramesh powar (@imrameshpowar) November 28, 2018
As per an earlier report, Powar was to meet BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and GM (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim the same day.
Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur had both met the same officials on Monday separately. On Tuesday, Raj sent an email outlining them treatment meted to her during the World T20 in West Indies and accusing Committee of Administrators(COA) member Diana Edulji of bias. The intimation was quite bizarrely leaked to the media.
While it is not directly related to the matter, the retired off-spinner is unlikely to get an extension as his interim contract ends on November 30.
Hence, the board will continue with its policy of inviting fresh applications for the coach’s position and Powar will also be eligible for application.
