In November 2006, the BCCI took control of Indian women’s cricket after a prolonged demand from the women’s body to merge the governing bodies. It was a welcome move for women’s cricket in India. The BCCI is the richest board in the world of cricket and being associated with it meant that the girls would get state of the art facilities, including better funding.
There is seldom any doubt that Indian women’s cricket has thrived under the BCCI, thanks to a more organized structure, better exposure, and improved financial incentives. The success of the team not only goes to the players but also to the coaches that have been a part of the outfit. Since 2006 that is after the merger of women’s cricket with the BCCI, many coaches have come and gone. While some have had lasting impressions, some failed to make a mark.
List of coaches of Indian women’s cricket team after the merger with BCCI in 2006
| Coach | Tenure | Tests | ODIs | T20Is |
| Sudha Shah* | 2003-07 | 5 (1) | 67 (42) | 1 (1) |
| Shantha Rangaswamy* | 2008 | 0 | 10 (5) | 0 |
| Sudha Shah* | 2008-10 | 0 | 17 (8) | 8 (3) |
| KVP Rao* | 2010 | 0 | 0 | 4 (2) |
| Anju Jain* | 2011-13 | 0 | 25 (10) | 25 (9) |
| Tushar Arothe* | 2013 | 0 | 3 (3) | 3 (3) |
| Purnima Rau* | 2014 | 0 | 3 (3) | 11 (7) |
| Sudha Shah* | 2014 | 2 (2) | 5 (1) | 1 (0) |
| Purnima Rau* | 2015-17 | 0 | 20 (16) | 20 (11) |
| Tushar Arothe* | 2017-18 | 0 | 23 (14) | 15 (8) |
| Ramesh Powar* | 2018 | 0 | 3 (2) | 10 (8) |
| WV Raman | 2018-21 | 0 | 14 (10) | 30 (16) |
| Ramesh Powar | 2021–Present | – | – | – |
Note: The number in brackets indicate the number of wins
*The data is sourced from the book “The Fire Burns Blue – A history of Women’s Cricket in India”
Coaches like Sudha Shah, Purnima Rau, Tushar Arothe, and Ramesh Powar have been given more than one chance to be the head coach of Women in Blue. The reason for this could be the team has done well under their aegis. For instance, India made it to its first-ever World Cup final in 2005 under the tutelage of Sudha Shah. They also won the historic Test series in England with seven players making their Test debut. Under her, India won 58 (54.71%) out of 106 international games.
With Purnima Rau being associated with the Women in Blue, India won 37 (68.52%) out of 54 international games. The two male coaches, namely Tushar Arothe and Ramesh Powar also had a fairly decent outing with the team. Arothe had a success percentage of 63.64 while Powar had a win rate of 76.92%.
Considering the ongoing controversy surrounding the replacement of WV Raman, who led India to the famous World T20 final last year, it will be interesting to see how Powar goes about his business, especially after his unceremonious exit in 2018 due to fallout with the India ODI captain Mithali Raj.
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.
