Kiran Powar, the former Mumbai all-rounder, has resigned as Mumbai’s Under-16 cricket coach following a prolonged difference of opinion with the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) Under-16 selectors and director of cricket-cum-Ranji Trophy coach Chandrakant Pandit.
Powar, who guided Mumbai Under-16 to the final of the last year’s inter-state tournament, is understood to have had fallen out with Under-16 selectors at the start of his tenure. Following a complaint by the selectors, the Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) had summoned him to present his side. When he did not show up for the second time during CIC’s meeting on Wednesday, the CIC had reportedly decided to issue a show cause notice to him.
Disgusted with the treatment meted out to him, Powar emailed his resignation to MCA secretary on Thursday.
“I had always officially communicated over email to you that I would be obliged to attend (CIC hearing) if you could lay down the purpose and agenda of discussion as there was not really any issue regarding my functioning,” Powar wrote in his 1,000-plus word email, accessed by Sportstar .
“On the contrary, I had complained to you that I was threatened by Mr. Chandrakant Pandit in front of the Under-16 boys that I shall be refrained from entering the MCA BKC Indoor facility. The reason being that I was wearing an MCA T-shirt but not Indoor Cricket Academy T-shirt. The so called incident happened on July 1, 2016 and I also informed you on the abusive behaviour of Mr. Pandit. Surprisingly, I have been left with no reply till date.”
Several MCA insiders confided that Powar continued to complaint about the team selection all through the last season. However, he has refuted the claims, putting the onus on the selectors instead. “During the last season I was asked to walk out of the meeting in spite of me being present in the meeting of the U-16 Mumbai team. So who should be unhappy with the attitude? Is this the respect for the coach?” he stated in the letter.
Conflict of Interest complaint
The MCA corridors are also abuzz with the talk of Powar, through his wife’s email address, complaining to the BCCI Ombudsman alleging Pandit’s conflict of interest for being assigned a dual role as senior team’s coach and director of the indoor cricket academy. An MCA insider revealed that Powar has resigned “just before he was to be shown the door”. It is understood that the CIC had directed MCA to sort out the mess within a week since the season was getting closer.
Powar, however, blamed the MCA for not adhering to his request of appointing a full-time physiotherapist with the Under-16 team.
“I immensely respect Mumbai Cricket Association for its rich tradition and glorious past. The reason to take up the coaching assignment was my passion to help out young kids and spot right talent and nurture in them a bright future. I have been fortunate to be coached under Ramakant Achrekar Sir and it is his values, ethics and passion for coaching that I have always followed,” Powar concluded in his letter.
“There is no longer appreciation left for ethics, commitment and values and hence I am stepping down from the post of Mumbai Under-16 Coach.”
While MCA joint secretaries Dr. P. V. Shetty and Dr. Unmesh Khanvilkar did not respond to queries about Powar’s resignation, Pandit and Powar remained unavailable for a comment.
Powar, the elder brother of Test cricketer Ramesh Powar, represented Mumbai, Goa, Assam and Baroda during his decade-long first-class career that culminated in 2006-07. Prior to his appointment as Mumbai’s Under-16 coach, he was associated with the Vidarbha Cricket Association as Under-19 coach.
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