Herschelle Gibbs in race to become Indian women team's coach

Indian women cricket’s team is going through a turmoil right now. Everything looked fine when they were playing the league games of the recently-concluded Women’s World T20 in the Caribbeans. Under caretaker coach Ramesh Powar, the Women in Blue thrashed the likes of New Zealand, Pakistan and Australia to storm into the semi-final with all wins.

However, things went downhill after that. India dropped a huge bombshell by dropping their former skipper and highest run-scorer Mithali Raj. Unfortunately, the move backfired as India suffered a batting collapse and lost the game by eight wickets to exit the competition. And as soon as the game finished, the blame game started.

Mithali’s sensational hit out at Powar, claiming that he disrespected her in addition to making several other allegations. The former Indian spinner, on the other hand, was quick to hit back at her, saying that she was hard to handle for the coaches.

Things then took a turn for the worse as skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and her deputy Smriti Mandhana wrote to BCCI, asking the board to extend Powar’s tenure. However, the cricketing body decided against it and has now invited applications for the same.

Proteas legend throws his hat in the ring

Former South Africa opener Herschelle Gibbs has thrown his hat in the race to become the next coach of the Indian women’s cricket team. Gibbs was an unexpected candidate and not surprisingly, it has taken aback many. The other high profile names who have applied for the post include Dav Whatmore, Venkatesh Prasad and Tom Moody.

“Yes, Gibbs is very much interested in the role of women’s coach,” a source close to the player confirmed to CricketNext. “It is a very prestigious job, to be associated with the Indian national team. He has applied for the position and hopes to be called for the interview soon.”

One of the best-ever batsmen to have played for South Africa, Gibbs represented the Proteas in 90 Tests, 248 ODIs and 23 T20Is. The experienced campaigner is also not new to coaching. He began his coaching career by guiding Kuwait in their bid to qualify for the ICC T20 World Cup 2020. Recently, he took charge of Afghanistan Premier League (APL) franchise Balkh Legends.

Meanwhile, the job of the Indian women team’s coach is becoming highly-sought after ever since the BCCI advertised for the same. The successful candidate will pen down a two-year deal which will see him pocket a Rs. 3 to 4 crores a year.

“The women’s team has been performing quite well recently. They have managed to improve a lot over the last year. We want a high-profile coach for the women’s team as well, who can push them and guide them to greater success. That is why we are sparing no expense on hiring of a new coach,” a Committee of Administrators source told the news outlet.

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~ Written by Bijoy

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