Twitterati lash out at coach Ramesh Powar after Indian women crash out of World T20 2018
The Indian team management faced strong criticism after losing the match particularly because of its decision to leave out Mithali Raj.
Till recently, Ramesh Powar was being seen as a man behind a group of successful women. The coach of the Women in Blue believed to have inculcated a positive spirit in each member of the outfit which headed to the Windies for the World T20. The side led by new captain Harmanpreet Kaur had a terrific campaign in the tournament, winning all the four games in the group to finish as the toppers.
But then came the tragedy. In the second semi-final played in North Sound on Thursday, Harmanpreet’s girls suffered an eight-wicket defeat against England after getting bowled out for only 112 inside 20 overs – their lowest score in the tournament. Heather Knight’s side had little difficulty winning the game in 17.1 overs losing just a couple of wickets.
Decision to drop Mithali Raj came under heavy scrutiny
The Indian team management faced strong criticism after losing the match particularly because of its decision to leave out Mithali Raj, the experienced batswoman who many believed was required in the game which was played on a not so easy wicket.
Mithali, the highest scorer for India in T20Is and also among the top batswomen in this format in the world, scored two half centuries in as many games she got to play in this tournament and that made the decision to drop her for the semi-final look startling for many, including former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar and cricket expert Harsha Bhogle.
Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur defended the decision to drop Mithali in the post-match presentation saying it was a move made in the team’s interest and it did not click. Mithali also sat out for India’s group game against Australia yet it was not made an issue since the game was inconsequential from India’s perspective. India also won the game convincingly and that might have made the team management confident of pulling it through without Mithali in the semi-final as well.
The Twitterati particularly slammed Powar for dropping Mithali for the crucial encounter with some even questioning the decision of making him the coach of a national side.
Here are some of the reactions for dropping Mithali Raj for the semi-final against England:
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