Mumbai: Former opener W V Raman was Thursday preferred over celebrated South African Gary Kirsten for the position of India’s women’s cricket coach despite dissension among the administrators over the selection process, a BCCI official told this agency.
Raman, who played 11 Tests and 27 ODIs, is now one of the most qualified coaches in the country. He has coached big Ranji Trophy teams like Tamil Nadu and Bengal, and has also had a stint with the India U-19 team. The 53-year-old Raman is currently a batting consultant at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.
“Kirsten was the top choice for the BCCI ad-hoc selection committee but Raman got the job as the South African was not keen on giving up his plum job with IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore,” the official said.
“The team currently also needs a batting coach so I think Raman is a good choice,” the official added.
Kirsten had been head coach of the Indian men’s team for three years from 2008 to 2011 and also guided them to 50-overs World Cup triumph in 2011. He then coached South Africa from 2011 to 2013 before moving his focus on Indian Premier League.
The ad-hoc selection committee which comprised of former captain Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy recommended three names – Kirsten, Raman and Venkatesh Prasad in order of preference – to the Board. Eventually, the BCCI picked Raman for the job.
Besides Kirsten, Raman and Prasad, the other shortlisted candidates out of the 28 applicants who were interviewed Thursday were Manoj Prabhakar, Trent Johnston, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Brad Hogg and Kalpana Venkatachar.
The BCCI invited fresh applications for the job after Ramesh Powar’s brief stint as interim coach ended last month, in rather controversial circumstances after fallout with ODI skipper and senior pro Mithali Raj during the Women’s World T20 in West Indies. Powar too appeared for the interview.