Mumbai: Former India off-spinner Ramesh Powar has been named India A bowling coach for the upcoming series against South Africa A. “He has been appointed only for the South Africa A series,” a BCCI official told this agency Tuesday.
Powar, who played two Tests and 31 ODIs for India, was embroiled in a controversy late last year after he fell out with senior women’s team player Mithali Raj when he was the head coach.
Powar had reapplied for the same position but the Cricket Advisory Committee headed by 1983 World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev chose WV Raman as his successor.
India A will be playing two four day games and a five match unofficial ‘ODI’ series against South Africa A. The one-day series will be played in Thiruvananthapuram beginning from Thursday.
Mithali available
Meanwhile, India veteran Mithali Raj Tuesday made herself available for the upcoming T20 home series against South Africa but with the focus on youngsters ahead of next year’s World Cup, the selectors may not pick her.
The five-match series begins September 24, while the T20 World Cup is scheduled in Australia in February-March. The 36-year-old, who is the ODI captain and remains committed to play the 50-over World Cup in 2021, is not an automatic pick in the T20 eleven.
“I am definitely available for the T20 series next month but, at the moment, haven’t really thought about the T20 World Cup. I usually take it series by series,” Mithali said on his plans for the shortest format.
The selectors are scheduled to meet in Mumbai September 5 to pick the squad for the first three T20 Internationals. The series in Surat will be followed by three ODIs in Baroda. It has been learnt that the selectors will speak to Mithali about her plans ahead of the team selection.