Diana Edulji-Vinod Rai Engages in a War of Words Over Employment of India's Women Coach

Meanwhile, former skipper Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad, and former women’s Test player Shantha Rangaswamy have agreed to come on board to be part of the ad-hoc panel to select the next coach. However, Edulji says she does not see the need for an ad-hoc committee at all.

On December 11, Diana Edulji wrote to the chairman of CoA that read, “The captain (Harmanpreet Kaur) and vice-captain (Smriti Mandhana) have requested their choice, so why can’t we respect their choice till we get clarity on the committee? We can go ahead and continue with the same coach. The views of the two senior players must not be ignored.”

In doing so, the former skipper also cited instances from the saga between Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble. This led the then coach Kumble to step down from the prestigious role.

“Virat did not accede to Kumble continuing in spite of the CAC (Cricket Advisory Committee) saying so, then why don’t these two players (Harmanpreet and Mandhana) get what they feel is best for the team,” she added.

Vinod Rai, however, responded to Edulji, “If it is a question of respecting opinions of senior players then why not respect the opinion of the senior-most player – in fact, the ODI captain (Mithali)? What I cannot understand is why some members of the team, or any other person advising them, is against having an internationally-acclaimed coach. Don’t we seek to upgrade the team from the plateau that they keep hitting in international games?”

Edulji then wrote back saying, “They were truthful in expressing their views, unlike Virat who frequently sent SMSs to the CEO on which you acted, and there was a change in the coach. There too I had objected, and my dissent is recorded. Kumble, a legend in his own right, was subjected to loss of face and made to look like a villain. He was gracious enough to move on for which I respect him.”

Vinod Rai admitted that Kumble had to step down since he had differences with Kohli but reckoned that it was not the ideal situation.

“There were differences between Virat and Kumble. As a consequence of that Kumble stepped back. More importantly, the team did not send emails. The team must realise that coaches are not decided on team votes,” Rai wrote.

The gloomy tussle in the CoA clearly explains the severity of the mess that has engulfed the BCCI administration. The other involved members were not available for comments.