The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) announced an extension of Ramesh Powar’s contract as the head coach of the Indian women's team, earlier today. Powar was appointed as the interim coach of the team on July 16, a week after Tushar Arothe (Indian women’s team coach) was made to resign forcefully from the post, citing differences with senior players.

Ramesh Powar, the former Indian cricketer, was selected amongst six other applicants – India Men's U-19 team bowling coach Sanath Kumar, former India bowler Sunil Joshi, former India women’s captain Mamatha Maben, former Indian batsman Atul Bedade, and Rajkumar Sharma, who coached Virat Kohli in his early years.

Looking at the names of the short-listed candidates, one can say that there does not feature a credible name in the list, with respect to playing experience and coaching expertise. On August 10, a panel constituted by the BCCI interviewed 20 applicants in Mumbai, after which the six (above-mentioned) candidates were shortlisted.

Powar, who was selected as the head coach of the Indian team was given full-time duties, and his contract was extended till November 30, 2018. His tenure will see the Indian women team competing in Sri Lanka, West Indies, and Women’s World T20 to be held at Caribbean Islands too.

Couldn't BCCI find a better candidate than Ramesh Powar? The matter of contention here, given that the former Indian spinner has no experience of being a coach leave aside a proven track record in the same. His career statistics aren’t that brilliant either to be slotted at the top post in Indian women’s cricket.

Another point that comes to the fore is the names of the candidates who had applied for the position. In the list of applicants that had put forward their names for the job, none have had proper International cricketing experience. Is this how the cricket’s richest governing body is going to treat the appointment of the Indian women’s team?

In BCCI’s favour, one can say that the applicants were given an open invitation for the role. Hence, they cannot be held liable for it. However, another question that comes to the fore is, what stops the other experienced players or coaches from applying for the job? Is it not lucrative enough or is there a little too much politics into it?

The situation reminds us of a very hard-hitting scene from a Bollywood flick Chak De India. Do you remember the scene, where the Indian (Hockey) national selectors were not even interested in sending the Indian team in the Hockey World Cup?

Watch Epic Scene From Chak De India Depicting the State of Affairs:

The comparison between the two games might be a little too much here, but then a thing is common – why is the administration neglecting the women’s division while showering every other facility on the men’s division.

Yes, the women’s team is not as successful as the men’s team. The current rankings, the number of matches, the amount of money the sponsorships help pool in might have a vast difference between the two divisions, but at the administration level, things should not be. The facilities made available should not be. The perks should not be.

The current performances, in last two years, by the Indian team have been exceptionally well. The team has won many ODI and T20 matches, with their best performance being the runners-up at 2017 Women’s World Cup.

The Indian Women’s team ranks 4th in the ICC ODI Rankings. Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj are on rank 4 and 8 respectively in the ICC Women’s ODI Batting Rankings. Jhulan Goswami, the highest wicket-taker in ODI cricket, is on the 6th spot in ICC Women’s ODI Bowler Rankings. Deepti Sharma, too, ranks 4 in the latest ICC ODI All-rounder rankings.

If this is how the women cricket’s appointments are made, we wonder what learnings will the players achieve, leave aside achieving success.

Former coach Tushar Arothe, on his forced resignation, said, “Letting the players decide the fate of coaches will only set a bad precedent.” The 51-year-old coach was removed after there were complaints from senior players.

Whatever the situation is, the onus to find a solution lies with the BCCI. If this is the best we can offer to the women’s division, we wonder if the next generation of women will aspire to become cricketers. If the game is not competitive and the team will not be able to scale newer heights, the fans will not follow women’s cricket, anyway. The BCCI should take note of it and work on the resurrection of the women cricket’s administration structure right away.

A nation, which sees millions of fans wish success for the men’s team, one can only imagine the motivation they will derive if they wish for their success.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 14, 2018 08:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).