Former Indian women's team coach Tushar Arothe made some staggering revelations about the team environment, its management, the politics, and the treatment imparted to the coaches.
Tushar, while speaking to News 18, also expressed his thoughts on the team's selectors, who have already come under heavy scrutiny for some of its decision.
Also read: Former coach opens up on ‘lot of politics’ in Indian women’s cricket
Citing the example of a couple of prominent members being left out for the upcoming tour to England, Arothe said the decision-makers lacked vision and the system was a 'complete mess'.
"The selectors don’t have a vision. We were playing against South Africa after a long break. Shikha Pandey was not included in the team and I heard that she was rested. I mean, how do you rest a player who hasn’t played for 12 months? It is a complete mess. Look at Taniya Bhatia, safest pair of hands in team. She wasn’t included in the team. Now again for the tour of England, these players are back. I ask, on what basis were they left out, and have been brought back now," Arothe added.
Speaking about the politics in the team, Tushar said: "Simply put, there is a lot of politics in women’s cricket. In comparison, men’s cricket is very transparent. What I have seen from very close quarters in the team is that there is a lot of appeasement going on. I think the blame falls on former women players. Also, it is about the culture in the team."
{{/usCountry}}Speaking about the politics in the team, Tushar said: "Simply put, there is a lot of politics in women’s cricket. In comparison, men’s cricket is very transparent. What I have seen from very close quarters in the team is that there is a lot of appeasement going on. I think the blame falls on former women players. Also, it is about the culture in the team."
{{/usCountry}}The Indian team will play a one-off Test against the hosts followed by three ODIs and as many T20Is. Ramesh Powar, who was recently made the head coach of the team, announced his support staff on Monday. He named Shiv Sunder Das as the batting coach and Abhay Sharma as the fielding coach.
The women's team was last seen in action against South Africa in the ODI and T20I series. They ended up losing both the series.