Diana Edulji, a member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s Committee of Administrators, said on Monday that the Indian team management’s controversial call of dropping the experienced Mithali Raj for the Women’s World T20 semi-final against England cannot be questioned.
Edulji believes the Indian team simply had a “bad day” after remaining unbeaten in the group stage of the World T20, according to PTI.
Raj’s omission from the playing XI against England triggered a controversy, especially after India lost by eight wickets. Raj’s manager even took to social media to lash out at India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, calling her a “manipulative, lying, immature, undeserving captain”.
However, Edulji believes too much is being made out of the matter.
“The management made the decision of not changing a winning combination and that backfired,” Edulji, a former India captain, told PTI. “If I India had won the game, I am sure nobody would have questioned their decision.”
She added, “We can’t be questioning the team XI. Another example is of Krunal Pandya, who was thrashed in the first T20 [against Australia] but bounced back strongly yesterday [in the third T20]. These things happen in the game.”
Raj, who had missed the last pool game against eventual champions Australia as she was recovering from a knee injury, was available for the semi-final against England. In the two innings Raj played in the tournament, she scored 51 and 56, against Ireland and Pakistan respectively.
Harmanpreet defended the decision to keep Raj out of the team, saying “whatever we decided, we decided for the team”.
Edulji said that the comments made by Raj’s manager were uncalled for.
“As I see it, it was just a bad day for India,” she said. “The batting failed and when England were chasing, the dew made it tougher for the bowlers. The performance was unexpected, especially after the big win against Australia.”
She added, “I wish they had a bad game like that earlier in the competition and not in the all-important semifinal. The girls now have a New Zealand tour coming up, they must move on from this loss and work harder on their game.”
Edulji also clarified that the CoA has not planned any meeting with Harmanpreet and Raj yet, as stated in media reports.
“It was a selection matter,” she said. “There is no need for the CoA to intervene. If they want to have a word with us, then that can be looked at. We only step in when it is required, like it was when [former India coach] Tushar Arothe stepped down.”
Arothe had to quit in July after he reportedly developed differences with the senior players over his training methods. Former India spinner Ramesh Powar was appointed head coach in August and his term will end on November 30.
With inputs from PTI