Mithali Raj and new coach Ramesh Powar should get on a phone call and sort out differences: Deep Dasgupta

Former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta has reckoned that newly-appointed India Women coach Ramesh Powar and ODI captain Mithali Raj should get on a phone call first and sort out their differences straightaway.

Notably, Ramesh Powar was sacked from the same position in 2018 following a fallout with Mithali Raj. The 38-year-old had accused the former India cricketer of bias after the Harmanpreet Kaur-led T20 team dropped the veteran batter for the all-important World Cup semifinal against England.

Mithali, in a letter to the BCCI after the event, had alleged that Powar “was out to destroy and humiliate” her. Powar had hit back asserting that Mithali “threw a lot of tantrums and created chaos in the team”.

Deep Dasgupta, the cricketer-turned-commentator, has stated that “legendary” Mithali and his close friend Powar should chat and sort out their differences because their goal at the end of the day remains the same.

“We don’t know what happened but we all know something happened there. Mithali is your 50-over captain, she is a legend, there is no two ways about it. That’s the first thing which needs to be sorted. When you have somebody as senior and someone like Mithali, who already had an issue with Ramesh, I think one of the first things that needs to happen is that phone call to sort things out.

“The goal remains the same — Indian team doing well. So, I think first thing which will take place is that phone call, chat between them, sorting differences that they may have had in the past. That should not be something which should pull the team back. They might have had differences but at the end of the day their goal is same,” the former wicketkeeper-batsman told Sports Today.

Ramesh Powar recently coached the Mumbai senior team that won the Vijay Hazare Trophy and has worked at the National Cricket Academy as a Bowling Coach.

The first assignment of the newly-appointed coach who replaced WV Raman on Thursday, will be the England tour where India women will play a Test, 3 ODIs and as many T20Is. The one-off Test starts in Bristol on June 16. The selectors are expected to announce the squad for the England tour in the coming days and the team is expected to fly to England along with the men’s cricket team after completing the mandatory quarantine period.

Mithali Raj has hinted that she could retire from international cricket after next year’s 50-over World Cup.