India women’s cricket legend Mithali Raj has recently ??bid farewell to all forms of international cricket, dr??awing curtains to her 23-year-long illustrious career. The 39-year-old, who has represented India in over 200 ODIs, announced her decision on Twitter just hours before the Indian squad for the ?tour of Sri Lanka was announced by BCCI.

Mithali �the leading run-scorer among women in international cricket �accomplished several highs during her scintillating career. However, there was a phase in 2018 where she was involved in a controversy with current head coach Ramesh Powar.

The incident erupted after Mithali was not included in India’s playing XI against England at the 2018 T20 World Cup semifinals. India h??ad lost the match, after which both Mithali and Powar indulged in a war of words.

Now, days after her retirement, the former India skipper has opened up about the whole episo?de, stating she was hurt by all the happenings but kept quiet and got along with Powar. Mithali said she was always goal-oriented and had a purpose of playing cricket at the best level.

“When you find yourself in the middle of chaos, you can’t really think straight because you feel all sorts of emotions, even if you want to internalise and think from your brain and not from your heart. It would still be like you are hurting, so you will probably never have clarity if you are in chaos,” Mithali Raj told India Today.

“Take some time and get out of it and then see it as a third person to understand how better you can respond to it, or is it necessary? Sometimes it is okay to be quiet. It also requires a lot of courage when you are treated unfairly… everybody knows only one side of the story, and when you feel that way, it is fine because, at the end of the day, I am someone who is goal-oriented. I had a purpose – to play cricket at the best optimum level that I could. If I had to achieve that each time when I was to get on to the field and I wanted to give my best, it is not just about my skill, but it was also about my mental state of mind,” she added.

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Indian women cricketers are currently spending time in Mumbai as they are quarantined ahead of their visit to the United Kingdom (UK) for the all-format series against ?England, starting in ??mid-June.

This will be the first series of Ramesh Powar as coach of India’s women cricket team since his re-appointment for the respective role. Powar replaced WV Raman at the position a??s the team focuses on the 2022 World ?Cup.

The former India spinner has returned as head coach after leaving the post three years ago. Back then, a major controversy involving him and Mithali Raj grabbed many ?headlines after the senior batter had accused Powar of discrimination and bias during the 2018 T20 World Cup.

Mithali had written a letter to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), blaming Powar for hu?miliating her. Surprisingly, Mithali did not get a place in the playing XI during the?? semi-final against England, which India lost.

However, now Mithali is looking forward to playing under Powar as she feels ‘past is gone by’, and they (Mithali and Powar) will ‘steer the ship’ together.

“The past is gone by. You cannot go back. I am sure he (Ramesh Powar) will come up with plans, and we together will steer the ship. We will work in tandem and build a very strong team for the future, especially with the World Cup scheduled next year,” Mithali told The Hindu.

The Jodhpur-born talked about the Test match that India Women is supposed to play in their England tour as well as the Pink Ball match in their next assignment in Australia. Notably, the red-ball fixture against England is India Women’s first Test match since 2013.

“For all the youngsters in the team, and even for someone like me who played a Test match seven years ago, there is no baggage to carry. We have not played the format for such a long time and hence can play with an open mind,” reckoned Mithali.

“It is good to see that this Test will be followed by a pink-ball Test in Australia later this year. My personal opinion is that we should have continuity in playing Test matches. I believe that all three formats can exist together in women’s cricket, and players need to enjoy all of them,” she added.

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In the latest developments, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the appointment of former India cricketer Ramesh Powar as the Head Coach of the Indian Women cricket team.

Interestingly, Powar previously coached the same team from July to November 2018 before a fallout with Mithali Raj put an end to his tenure. Powar replaced WV Raman, whose coaching stint began in December 2018.

Under Raman, India qualified for the final of the T20 World Cup in 2020, where they lost to Australia on March 8. Amid the pandemic, the team didn’t play another international match until their home series against South Africa Women. The Proteas won the ODI as well as??? the T20I series by 4-1, and 2-1, respectively.

The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), comprising three members, i.e. Madan Lal, Sulakshana Naik, and Rudra Pratap Singh, interviewed the applicants and unanimously agreed on Powar’s name. Notably, the apex Indian board had advertised received over 35 applications for the given post.

Apart from Powar and Raman, others in the competition were Devika Vaidya, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Mamtha Maben, Ajay Ratra, former assistant coach Suman Sharma, and former chair of selectors Hemlatha Kala.

Under Powar, the Indian team had qualified for the ICC T20 Women’s World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and registered 14 T20 victories in a row. He recently trained the Mumbai men’s domestic team that won the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021.

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