On what is most likely to be his last day as the Indian women’s cricket team coach, Ramesh Powar has gone on a sub-tweeting spree.
The 40-year-old former India player shared a handful of motivational quotes, one with a pointed reference to players who train half-heartedly.
Many users on Twitter felt it was a veiled attack on the ongoing controversy about Mithali Raj’s exclusion from the World T20 semi-finals and subsequent mud-slinging.
Among the list of quotes shared, the most striking one said: “I watch the warm ups. I see who cuts corners, I see who stretched half heartedly. I watch body language. Right there, that’s enough information for me to know how committed the athlete is.”
While Ramesh hasn’t mentioned any player’s name in his tweets, given the context of what has transpired over the last week, his posts are pretty interesting.
Here are some of his other posts. No prizes for guessing who or what issues he is referring to.
Powar’s tweets came after Raj had herself tweeted about her patriotism and skill-set being questioned. The tweet from the Indian cricket veteran came after Powar’s World T20 report, accusing Raj of blackmail and power abuse, was leaked to the media.
Raj’s statement garnered a lot of sympathy on social media as well. While Powar has made no comments on that as yet, the Twitter spree could suggest he has not taken the criticism well.
In his report to the BCCI, Powar had said that Raj threatened to retire midway through the World T20 after being denied the opening slot.
“I hope Mithali stops blackmailing, pressurising coaches and putting her interest first than the team,” Powar said in the report that was leaked to the media.
On Tuesday, Raj’s email to the BCCI was also leaked, wherein she had accused Powar of humiliation and Committee of Administrators member Diana Edulji of bias. The ODI captain stated that Edulji used her position against her and made her feel vulnerable.
The 40-year-old Powar’s interim tenure as coach comes to an end on Friday and he is unlikely to get another stint after the re-application process.
For background on how controversy has erupted over the last week, here’s a handy timeline.
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