Indian women cricket team coach Ramesh Powar has told BCCI that former T20 skipper Mithali Rah had threatened to retire midway through the T20 World cup after being denied the opening slot.
In his report to the BCCI, Powar has also accused Mithali Raj of throwing tantrums and creating chaos.
Powar has submitted his version of the events to BCCI after ODI skipper Mithali Raj claimed that the head coach humiliated her during the recently concluded ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
Powar’s 10-page report to BCCI is almost entirely focussed on Mithali Raj, says a PTI report.
On Wednesday, Powar met BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and GM (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim at the board headquarters in Mumbai to submit it.
“I hope Mithali stops blackmailing, pressurising coaches and putting her interest first than the team,” Powar said while summarising Mithali’s performance on the tour.
The India coach also claimed the decision to push Mithali down the order was taken after due consultation. “Before Pakistan match, video analyst Pushkar Sawant came to my room and said that fielding coach Biju George has conveyed to him that Mithali is upset with batting order and packed her bags with announcement of retirement in the morning,” Powar wrote.
“I was saddened by her attitude and it gave me an impression that Mithali Raj comes first and then India. She threw a lot of tantrums and created a lot of chaos,” he stated in his report.
Mithali Raj was dropped from Indian squad in the semi-finals against England that Women-in-Blue lost by eight wickets and the decision to exclude the senior most player from the squad for such important match had triggered a storm on social media. Speaking about her exclusion, Mithali had said the axing left her in tears.
In his report, Powar also responded to Mithali’s charge that he asked her to not even show up at the ground for the league match against Australia. Powar said he had merely asked her to rest at the hotel to recover from a niggle.
“She couldn’t understand her role and adapt to the team plan and played for her personal milestones,” the former off-spinner wrote, adding, “Her irresponsible behaviour took my time away as I was supposed to speak with few players regarding preparations of all important semi-final match, which could not happen.”
“It’s not always about individual milestones, it’s always about team strategies and executions (team first),” Powar added.