Outgoing India womenâs head coach WV Raman has alleged that a âsmear campaignâ against him has gained unwarranted traction and he has urged the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly to stop it. In an email that Raman also sent to the National Cricket Academy head Rahul Dravid, he wrote it will be âextremely disconcertingâ if his candidature was rejected due to reasons other than âmy incompetency as a coachâ.
Raman was not retained as the head coach of the senior womenâs team by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) which picked Ramesh Powar for the job.
âI presume you might have been told different views about my style of functioning and work ethic,â Raman wrote. âWhether those views conveyed to the officials of the BCCI had any impact on my candidature is of no consequence now.
âWhat is important is that the smear campaign seems to have gained some unwarranted traction with some BCCI officials which needs to be halted permanently. I am prepared to give an explanation should you or any of the office bearers require it.â
Raman said there was no argument if his application was rejected because of âincompetencyâ as a coach, but he expressed his concern for the involvement of other reasons behind it.
âIf I were to be rejected due to my incompetency as a coach, there is no argument on a judgment call at all,â he wrote. âBut what will be extremely disconcerting is if my candidature was rejected due to any other reasons. Especially if it was due to allegations from people who were more focused on achieving their personal objectives at the expense of the overall hygiene and welfare of the Indian womenâs team and the pride of the country.â
While Ramanâs letter did not name anyone, it is understood that he was writing about the star culture that prevails in the team, which he said is probably doing more harm than good.
âIf some people in the system have been highly accommodative to the extent of being seemingly obsequious to an accomplished performer for years on end â and if that performer feels constrained to adhere to the culture â then I would leave it to you to decide if the coach was asking for too much.
âIn a coaching career spanning 20 years, I have always created a culture in which the team always comes first and insisted on no individual overriding either the game or the team.â
He said âpaying heed to only one individualâs views while disregarding everyone elseâs over a long period of time has resulted in gaping holes in the process and the system.â
âThe time has come for you two accomplished former legends to salvage womenâs cricket, falling which things could gather momentum in the wrong direction. I have some suggestions that might help in the improvement of womenâs cricket. I will be delighted to share those if you are interested,â said Raman.