The presence of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid in the India women's team system would be beneficial: WV Raman

Earlier this week, the BCCI named Ramesh Powar as the new head coach of the India women’s team. The decision came after the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Madan Lal, Sulakshana Naik, and RP Singh recommended their choice to the board. 

During an interview with Cricbuzz, WV Raman spoke about the letter which he wrote to BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and NCA Director Rahul Dravid. He also stated that having former captains Ganguly and Dravid in the system would benefit the side in developing a "healthy team culture."

“My writing to Sourav was to propel him into action to course-correct if required. The letter dealt with the need for the system to encourage or ensure players adhere to a healthy team culture. Ganguly has seen it all as a former player and captain, and therefore, I felt it was better to get him into the frame. I also added Dravid because he handles cricketers of the future and might make certain aspects a part of the curriculum in the NCA, if he hasn’t already,” Raman told Cricbuzz. 

“When I took charge, there were some undercurrents between certain individuals in the side but all that was handled by making them understand that the team is far more important than individuals. That whatever they had achieved thus far, whatever history they had created, they had to keep on replicating that by doing well,” he said.

“And that it is also in the interest of everybody to shed their differences and not carry it on to the field for the simple reason that they stood to benefit a lot more in every respect because as a team, they were gaining momentum. So, there were no issues along those lines when I was there.”

Certain things need to change, says the 55-year-old

“What I have tried to say in my letter is very simple — that it’s very easy to get carried away doing things in one particular fashion for a long period of time. That’s what has been happening. That needs to change. That’s what I have tried to drive home in my letter. It’s not against anyone particular individual as such. Sometimes, things can escape your attention, and I have tried to do my bit to address that.”

Raman, the outgoing coach, was also one of the final shortlisted candidates for the job. He took it to Twitter and congratulated his successor, Powar, and wished him the best of luck in his tenure.