The drama surrounding Mithali Raj has taken another twist with head coach Ramesh Powar revealing the player had threatened to pull out of the Women’s World T20 and announce retirement in case she was not allowed to open. Powar has also said that Raj, who is India’s ODI captain, should stop “blackmailing and pressurising” coaches and putting her interests ahead of the team’s.
These revelations are part of the coach’s hard-hitting appraisal of India’s performance in the Caribbean, where they lost in the semi-final against England. Raj was omitted from that match, triggering the controversy. On Wednesday Powar met BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and the board’s head of cricket operations Saba Karim before e-mailing his final report to the pair.
It was explosive as the letter Raj herself had sent to Johri and Karim this week accusing the coach of “humiliating” her and threatening to “destroy” her career.
In his defence, Powar, who took charge as interim coach, replacing Tushar Arothe, in July, has blamed Raj for manipulating the coaching staff to suit herself at the expense of the team. “I hope Mithali Raj stops blackmailing, pressurising coaches & also stops putting her interest first than team’s,” he wrote in his report, accessed by ESPNcricinfo. “I hope she will look at the bigger picture & work towards betterment of the Indian women’s cricket.”
More to follow