Legendary Indian player from the national women’s cricket team Mithali Raj has written an angry letter to the BCCI expressing her fears on how a few individuals were out destroy her career as a cricketer.
Mithali Raj wrote, “For the first time in a 20 year long career, I felt deflated, depressed and let down. I am forced to think if my services to my country are of any value to a few people in power who are out to destroy me and break my confidence.”
She singled out CoA member Diana Edulji accusing her of biases adding that she always respected her and didn’t think that she will use her position to take a call against her. Mithali wrote, “To put things in perspective, I have always reposed faith in Diana Edulji and have always respected her and her position as a member of the COA. Never did I think she will use her position against me, more after hearing what all I had to go through in the Caribbean as I had spoken to her about it.
“Her brazen support in the press with regard to the decision of my benching in the semi-final of the t/20 World Cup has left me deeply distressed, more because she knows the real facts having spoken to me. Thereafter her statement saying ‘selection is not the COA’s headache’ is like suggesting there is no system of checks and balances and anyone can do anything and get away because they have the backing of people in power.”
Mithali Raj's accuses CoA member Diana Edulji for using her position against her. Then lashes out at Romesh Powar for humiliating her. Her full letter to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and Saba Karim#HarmanpreetKaur #MithaliRaj #BCCI @M_Raj03 pic.twitter.com/svbbkhdmWD
— Yash Bhati (@yashbhati0017) November 27, 2018
Mithali said that coach Ramesh Powar had humiliated her time and again. He, according to Mithali, began to humiliate her more after his decision to change the batting order backfired.
Mithali was rested in the T20 World Cup semi-final against England recently. India went on to lose the match by 8 wickets. Mithali’s exclusion from women’s national team had sparked outrage on social media with many pundits questioning the rationale behind the decision to drop a player, who’s been a legend in her game.
Making light of the controversy surrounding Mithali’s exclusion from the national team during an important match, Edulji, herself a former India captain, had justified the management’s decision to drop her. The team management consisted of Captain Harmanpreet Kaur, coach Ramesh Powar, vice captain Smriti Mandhana and selector Sudha Shah.