Ramesh Powar with fielding coach Biju George during his time with the India women’s team
Ramesh Powar, the former India offspinner who was removed as head coach of the India women’s team after an event-filled four-and-a-half month stint from mid- to late 2018, has been appointed bowling coach of the India men’s ‘A’ team.
For the time being, ESPNcricinfo understands, Powar’s appointment with the ‘A’ team is only for the upcoming series against the touring South Africa A side, who will play two four-day matches and a series of one-day games from August 29 to September 20.
Powar, 41, played two Test matches and 31 ODIs during a career that spanned a decade and a half, and then turned to coaching, landing the India women’s job in July 2018 in an interim capacity following the resignation of Tushar Arothe. Powar’s contract was subsequently extended till the end of the women’s World T20 later that year. He did not receive another extension, however, as a much-publicised fallout with Mithali Raj led to his ouster.
Mithali, who was left out of the XI for India’s semi-final encounter at the World T20, which they lost, returned home and wrote a letter to the BCCI accusing Powar of trying to “destroy” her career. Powar then responded by saying that Mithali had threatened to retire if she wasn’t allowed to open the batting.
Following the rather ugly sequence of events, the BCCI put out an advertisement inviting applications for the job, even as Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana wrote separate emails to the BCCI requesting that Powar continue in the job. That, however, didn’t happen, and WV Raman has since been in charge of the women’s team.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo