Reports : CoA chief overrules Diana Edulji’s request to extend Ramesh Powar’s contract

COA chairman Vinod Rai has overpowered Diana Edulji’s petition to cancel the selection process for the coach of the Indian women’s team and carry on with Ramesh Powar at the helm till the New Zealand tour beginning next month. In a letter to Rai, COA member Edulji had requested if Powar could be given an extension at least till the New Zealand tour, because of the fact that he has the backing of T20 captain Harmanpreet Kaur and veteran Smriti Mandhana.

However, Rai made it clear in his response that scrapping the coach selection process is out of the question as the BCCI already invited applications for the job. The applications for a coach ends on December 14 and Manoj Prabhakar, Herschelle Gibbs and Dimitri Mascarenhas are some of the people who have already applied for the post.

“Diana sent an email to Rai asking for an extension of Powar as both Harmanpreet and Mandhana asked for it. She wanted the interview process to be scrapped. However, Rai replied by saying that scrapping the process is not possible as the advertisement for the job has already been issued,” an inside source told Hindustan Times.

The former India spinner’s term ended on November 30, a week after India lost the semifinals of the World T20 to England under controversial circumstances. The team management dropped ODI skipper Mithali Raj for the knock-out fixture, which had led to a very public feud between the backroom staff and Raj.

BCCI officials are being expected to name the new coach before the New Zealand tour begins on January 24. The tour will be having three ODIs and as many T20I Matches.