Former India cricketer, W.V. Raman, has been appointed as the head coach of India’s women's team. This comes after the three-member ad-hoc panel, comprising Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy, interviewed nine candidates for the job.
Apart from Raman, the panel had also shortlisted former India coach Gary Kirsten and Venkatesh Prasad for the job. Raman also became a favourable pick as the women cricketers ‘preferably wanted’ a batsman as the coach.
Kirsten was considered as the first choice, but he missed out because of conflict of interest. During the Skype interview on Thursday, Kirsten was categorically asked whether he would be giving up on his job with Indian Premier League outfit Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). But he told the panel that he “would be happy with both” and insisted that the Board should talk to the franchise about the issue.
But during the IPL player auction held in Jaipur on Tuesday, RCB bosses had made it clear that they would continue with Kirsten. With the 2011 World Cup-winning coach not willing to leave the RCB job either, he was ‘ineligible’ for the role.
That paved the way for Raman’s appointment. Raman has been with the India A, India U-19 and Emerging India teams and also comes with a vast coaching experience.
Earlier, the BCCI acting treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry and CoA member Diana Edulji had questioned the entire selection process of the coach. With the Supreme Court’s next hearing scheduled for January 17, the treasurer said it would have been appropriate to conduct the interviews after the hearing to avoid running into legal tangles.
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