Very disturbed by all that is happening in women’s cricket, says Kapil Dev

The Mithali Raj - Ramesh Powar saga drew to an end as BCCI appointed WV Raman as the new coach of the Indian women’s cricket team. The Indian cricket body, in the process of hiring, had received applications from world-renowned personalities like Herschelle Gibbs, Dimitri Mascarenhas and even Gary Kirsten, who led the Indian cricket team to the ICC ODI World Cup title in 2011.

A committee led by World-cup winning captain Kapil Dev along with Shantha Rangaswamy and Anshuman Gaekwad interviewed a host of candidates before they zeroed in on former India opener - WV Raman. Kapil, who is revered for his honesty, revealed that the recent developments in Indian women cricket have left him disappointed.

This came after CoA member Diana Edulji repeatedly questioned the process of Raman’s appointment, terming it illegal as it did not have her approval. The former women’s team member also tried to stall Raman's appointment letter, which ultimately got approval from COA chief Vinod Rai.

"I am very disturbed about what all is happening. I don't want to take names but ego of one particular individual shouldn't be an impediment towards developing the women's game in the country. Someone might have his or her personal likes or dislikes but that is not above the interest of the national women's team," Kapil told PTI  sources.

Kapil, who has an impressive 434 Test wickets to his name, was astonished at the calibre of people that applied for the post of coach of the women’s team. He also added that players such as Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur have raised the standard of the sport on a global level.

"Look at the names who applied. Gary Kirsten, who coached India to World Cup. Venkatesh Prasad, who was Indian men's team bowling coach. Raman has earned respect from everyone with his technical knowledge. If anyone has problem with these names, then he/she doesn't have best interest of Indian cricket in mind.

"Just tell me where was women's cricket at least 10 years back. Who raised the profile? It's the players like Mithali and Harman. They have raised it to such a level that even someone like me, who didn't keep a track of what was happening a decade back, wanted to contribute," he concluded.