Mithali was "aloof, difficult to handle": Powar tells BCCI committee
New Delhi, Nov 28: The Indian women's cricket coach Ramesh Powar Wednesday conceded to having a "strained" relationship with senior player Mithali Raj but insisted that her contentious dropping from the World T20 semi final was based solely on cricketing logic, a Board official has claimed.
Powar met BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and GM (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim a day after he was accused of bias by Mithali. He met the two Board officials at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai.
The seniormost batswoman of the Indian team, in a scathing e-mail to Johri and Karim, alleged that Powar humiliated her during the World T20 in the West Indies and she was left in tears after the axing from the team.
"Ramesh admitted that his professional relationship with Mithali was strained as he always found her aloof and difficult to handle," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
However, the official said Powar insisted that Mithali's axing from the semifinal, which India lost to England by eight wickets, was based on strategy and not acrimony.
"He maintained that it was due to poor strike rate that she was dropped against England and also because the team management wanted to maintain a winning combination," the official said.
It is learnt that the former spinner, who took over as interim coach a few months ago, did admit to being "indifferent to the senior most player".
Powar was asked why Mithali's strike rate didn't come in the way of her selection for the games against Ireland and Pakistan, he had no response to offer. Mithali scored half centuries in both the games and was adjudged Player of the Match.
Another aspect that came up for discussion was if there was any "external pressure" to drop Mithali from any influential official.
The source said Powar denied receiving calls from anybody but claimed to be aware of one "powerful individual in the BCCI" being in touch with team manager (Trupti Bhattacharya) and tour selector (Sudha Shah).
On Tuesday, Mithali had also accused Committee of Administrators member Diana Edulji of bias. The ODI captain stated that Edulji used her position against her and made her feel vulnerable.
Edulji has not yet reacted to the allegations made by Mithali.
The 40-year-old Powar's interim tenure comes to an end on Friday.
Even though he will be free to apply for the post when fresh applications are invited, there is little chance that he will be retained as his player management skills have come under scanner due to this incident.
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Gulmarg terror attack: Two soldiers succumb to injuries, toll rises to four
Srinagar (PTI): Two soldiers who were critically wounded in Thursday's terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Gulmarg succumbed to their injuries, raising the death toll in the ambush to four.
Two Army porters died on Thursday while another porter and a soldier were injured.
Terrorists attacked a vehicle of the force six kilometres from tourist hotspot Gulmarg in north Kashmir's Baramulla district, officials said on Thursday.
They had said the terrorists opened fire on the Army vehicle in the Bota Pathri area in the evening when it was headed for the Nagin post in the Afrawat range.
Confirming the deaths of the two porters, the officials had said the condition of two of the injured soldiers was critical.
They had said the soldiers in the vehicle opened retaliatory fire when they came under attack.
The area is completely dominated by the Army and there were reports recently that a terrorist group had infiltrated during early summer and taken shelter in the higher reaches of the Afrawat range, they said.
The Bota Pathri area was recently opened to tourists.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the recent spate of attacks in the Valley was a matter of serious concern.
"Very unfortunate news about the attack on the Army vehicles in the Bota Pathri area of north Kashmir, which has resulted in some casualties and injuries. This recent spate of attacks in Kashmir is a matter of serious concern," he said in a post on X.
"I condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms and send my condolences to the loved ones of the people who lost their lives. I also pray that the injured make a complete and swift recovery," he added.
Former chief minister and People's Democratic Party supremo Mehbooba Mufti also condemned the attack.
The BJP's Jammu and Kashmir president Ravinder Raina, meanwhile, condemned the attack and blamed Pakistan for trying to destabilise peace and tranquillity in the Union Territory.
The attack came amid a spike in terror incidents in the Valley.
In another deadly attack on Sunday, six non-local labourers and a local doctor were killed when terrorists fired indiscriminately upon them at the Z-Morh tunnel construction site in the Gagangir area of central Kashmir's Ganderbal district.
Before that, a labourer from Bihar was shot dead by terrorists in Shopian district on October 18.
Earlier on Thursday, terrorists shot at and injured a labourer from Uttar Pradesh in the Tral area of Pulwama district.
