WV Raman states why he wrote to the top officials of BCCI

On Thursday, the BCCI appointed Ramesh Powar as the head coach of the senior India Women’s team after his name was finalised by a three-member Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Sulakshana Naik, Madan Lal and RP Singh.

Taking the reins from WV Raman, under whom the Indian women proceeded to the T20 World Cup final in 2020, Powar will be assuming the role for the second time after his controversial five-month stint in 2018.

Meanwhile, after his exit, Raman took to Twitter to congratulate Powar for being chosen and expected the team to soar high. Raman had also written a letter to the BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, to “propel them into action to course-correct.”

 There were some undercurrents between certain individuals: WV Raman

“My writing to Sourav was to propel him into action to course-correct if required. The letter dealt with the need for the system to encourage or ensure players adhere to a healthy team culture. Ganguly has seen it all as a former player and captain, and therefore, I felt it was better to get him into the frame. I also added Dravid because he handles cricketers of the future and might make certain aspects a part of the curriculum in the NCA if he hasn’t already,” WV Raman told Cricbuzz. 

He further told that “When I took charge, there were some undercurrents between certain individuals in the side but all that was handled by making them understand that the team is far more important than individuals. That whatever they had achieved thus far, whatever history they had created, they had to keep on replicating that by doing well.”

“And that it is also in the interest of everybody to shed their differences and not carry it on to the field for the simple reason that they stood to benefit a lot more in every respect because as a team, they were gaining momentum. So, there were no issues along those lines when I was there.”

“What I have tried to say in my letter is very simple — that it’s very easy to get carried away doing things in one particular fashion for a long period of time. That’s what has been happening. That needs to change.”

“That’s what I have tried to drive home in my letter. It’s not against anyone particular individual as such. Sometimes, things can escape your attention, and I have tried to do my bit to address that.”

The 55-year-old has played 11 Tests and 27 ODIs in a career spanning 17 years between 1982 and 1999.