Baroda Cricket Association has been in news lately. Amidst the lockdown and the pause on the play, there were eyes on the board and its interaction with the coach. In the Cricketing body, things went bizarre when firstly the male coach was accused of harassment by a senior player. However, the complaint was taken back and Atul Bedade was reinstated on his role as the coach.
What felt settled, wasn’t turning out to be so. The suspension was withdrawn but soon the Apex Council came into play and discharged the controversial coach of his post. In order to fill the void, the cricketing association has appointed a new coach. Anju Jain will be seen coaching the senior women’s cricket team of Baroda. Interestingly the decision came from Apex council as well. Anju Jain told the Times of India that she will be joining the team as soon as she receives the guidelines from the board.
Further on being her priority as the coach, she reflects on the need of building trust in the team. This could help players perform freely and comfortably. She adds that the fact that she has worked with some of the players in the past, can be helpful in developing a healthy rapport with the players. Anju Jain has been a big name in India cricket. She has played for the country for nearly 12 years. She was a wicketkeeper and had led the side into world cup 2000. She took her off her sporting shoes and retired in 2005.
She then went to serve important and influential posts. She was the selector of the side and then took on the job as the coach from 2011 to 2013. Interestingly, she joined the Bangladeshi side in 2018 which went on to defeat India in the Asia Cup. A BCA official, as per TOI, said that the experience that Anju Jain brings with herself would be valuable for the side.
It is satisfying to see the board not keeping the important post of coach empty for long as recently pandemic has emerged as an excuse for many pauses on the off-field working of Cricketing boards. Freshly from controversy, all eyes would be on the new coach who comes amidst a pandemic and at a time where training seems a distant reality.
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