The drama surrounding the letter penned by cricketer Mithali Raj to the Board of Cricket for Control in India (BCCI), alleging bias at the hands of coach Ramesh Powar and Committee of Administrators (CoA) member Diana Edulji, took a new turn with the coach making fresh accusations. In an official report submitted to the BCCI, Ramesh has stated his version of the events, following which Mithali took to Twitter and stated that she was hurt by his accusations.
“I'm deeply saddened & hurt by the aspersions cast on me. My commitment to the game & 20 years of playing for my country. The hard work, sweat, in vain. Today, my patriotism doubted, my skill set questioned & all the mud slinging- it's the darkest day of my life. May god give strength,” she said on the platform.
I'm deeply saddened & hurt by the aspersions cast on me. My commitment to the game & 20yrs of playing for my country.The hard work, sweat, in vain.
— Mithali Raj (@M_Raj03) November 29, 2018
Today, my patriotism doubted, my skill set questioned & all the mud slinging- it's the darkest day of my life. May god give strength
In his statement to the BCCI, a part of a review of the team’s performance in the World T20 semifinals match, Ramesh claims that Mithali threatened to pull herself out of the Women’s World T20 series and take to retirement if she were not allowed to open the match. He further added that the Mithali would blackmail and pressurize the coaches and would not cooperate with them. He further blamed Mithali and claimed that she manipulated the coaching staff to suit herself. “I hope Mithali Raj stops blackmailing, pressurising coaches & also stops putting her interest first than team's," he wrote in his letter, "I hope she will look at the bigger picture & work towards betterment of the Indian women's cricket."
What happened at the World T20 Semifinals?
On November 23, India and England faced each other at the World Cup T20 Semifinals match held in Antigua, West Indies. Authorities decided to bench Mithali Raj, and this was met with approval from the team captain Harmanpreet Kaur.
India lost to England by eight wickets, which led many to outrage over the fact that Mithali was dropped from the match, despite having been in good form. Many claimed that the outcome would have been in India’s favour, had she been allowed to play. Sunil Gavaskar too came out in support of Mithali and stated that, “You have to pick your best player for the knockouts. You needed the experience and expertise of Mithali Raj."