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It's a BCCI decision to move Powar to NCA: Harmanpreet Kaur
The India women’s team captain denied that a rift with the players was the cause of BCCI’s decision to replace Powar as their coach.
When you replace the coach of the women's team with two months to go for the T20 World Cup, it's not a straightforward call. There’s a risk of unsettling the side. In a surprise move, the Indian cricket board has taken that risk by moving Ramesh Powar to the National Cricket Academy, while handing over the job of India women's team coach to Hrishikesh Kanitkar.
India women’s team captain Harmanpreet Kaur, however, denied that a rift with the players was the cause of BCCI’s decision to replace Powar as their coach.
“There was nothing like that (no differences). Whenever I have worked with him, I have always enjoyed it. As a team, we have grown and we have learned a lot from him. It’s a BCCI decision that he has moved to the NCA and whenever we will be at the NCA, he will always be available,” Harmanpreet said at the captain’s press conference held at the BCCI headquarters on Thursday ahead of the five-match T20 series against Australia to be played in Mumbai.
In the women’s Asia Cup, played in October, though India won the tournament, they lost to Pakistan in their league game following a batting collapse. It was a sore point under coach Powar as the reverse was blamed on over-experimentation.
The India skipper said the change of coach won’t affect the team’s chances at the World Cup because the team has already worked with Kanitkar, referring to his stint with the team in the series in Sri Lanka in June-July.
“Had there been a new coach, it could have been difficult, but since we have worked with Hrishi sir in the past, I don’t think there will be any problems. If a new person comes in, you need to explain a lot of things, but Hrishi sir already knows how we work, so there won’t be much changes,” Harmanpreet said.
Saying that they were in the “right hands” under Kanitkar, the captain said “whatever decision the BCCI takes, we are okay with it.”
“We had a very good experience with Hrishi sir when we toured Sri Lanka and when we were at the NCA, he was always available, whenever we needed his help. Hrishi sir brings in a lot of experience to the team and we are looking forward and focusing on the road ahead,” Harmanpreet said.
On what Kanitkar brings to the table, the 33-year-old batter who was the player of the series in Sri Lanka, highlighted his calming influence apart from clarity in planning the innings: “We needed someone who could give us that calmness on the field. You have seen in the past that in crucial situations, girls need that support in someone who can guide them calmly and tell them what to do and there should be clear thoughts.”
“In Sri Lanka, we have seen that side of Hrishi sir. When we heard that he will be the coach for the Australia series and even beyond that, there was positivity in the team. We really liked the way he worked with us in Sri Lanka.”
