The Mithali Raj-Ramesh Powar controversy has caused great upheaval in the inner circle of Indian cricket. There was been widespread mud-slinging, blame game and finger pointing which has led to numerous "leaked" emails coming to public knowledge.
This controversy is leaving a sour taste in the mouth of everyone involved and might stall the progress of women's cricket in India at a time it was promising to take off.
In the latest chapter of this seemingly never-ending story, Powar and Mithali have taken to Twitter to post conflicting messages after the latter expressed her disappointment at the scathing allegations levelled against her in Powar's appraisal of the team's performance in the World T20.
Here's taking a timeline view of the chain of incidents right from Mithali's exclusion from the starting line-up in the semi-final against England.
Mithali Raj gets dropped and India's batting collapses
Mithali Raj got inexplicably dropped from India's starting 11 against England in the semi-final of the World T20. India decided to bat first after winning the toss and decided to go in with the same line-up they did against Australia – a game which Mithali missed due to a slight injury.
India's batting collapsed on a tricky pitch as they were bowled out for 112 handing England an easy route to the final. This decision was not met well by the fans or experts at the time who questioned the exclusion of the team's most experienced batter and highest run-scorer for such a big game.
Mithali's manager calls Harmanpreet lying and manipulative hours after India's exit
Mithali's manager Annisha Gupta had not taken the decision to leave Mithali out kindly and she took to Twitter to bash the Indian team management and skipper Hamranpreet Kaur.
"Unfortunately @BCCIWomen believes in politics not sport. After witnessing what @M_Raj03 's experience could do in IndvIre it's shocking that they went with what pleases @ImHarmanpreet -a manipulative, lying, immature, undeserving captain," read Gupta's tweet after India were handed an 8-wicket drubbing by England.
In another tweet, she called Kaur a "manipulative, lying cheat".
Although she has since deleted her account, she confirmed that the tweet was indeed hers and that it came "from the right place".
CoA member Diana Edulji says mountain out of a molehill
After Mithali and Harmanpreet individually met BCCI officials - CEO Rahul Johri and General Manager for Cricket Operations, Saba Karim – CoA member Diana Edulji said that too much was being made of a simple selection call.
"I think too much is being made out of it. The management made the decision of not changing a winning combination and that backfired. If India had won the game, I am sure nobody would have questioned their decision.
"We can't be questioning the team eleven."
Mithali Raj slams coach and Edulji in a 'leaked' letter written to BCCI
Mithali expressed her extreme disappointment at the treatment meted out to her by Powar which she described as "unfair" and "discriminatory".
"For the first time in a 20-year long career, I felt deflated, depressed and let down," her letter read. "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 also claimed that Edulji was out to destroy her.
"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."
She also wrote that the coach was out to destroy and humiliate her.
Ramesh Powar calls Mithali selfish and blames her for costing India the semi-final
Powar hit back at Mithali for "pressurising" and "blackmailing" coaches and said that she should put the team's need ahead of hers. He also said that she threatened to leave the tour midway because her personal desires were not being met.
"Video analyst Mr Pushkar Sawant came to my room with the news that fielding coach Mr Biju George conveyed to him that Mithali is upset about not changing the batting order & not allowing her to open in Pakistan match. She has packed her bags to leave with the announcement of retirement in the morning."
He also claimed that she apparently had an ex-cricketer call up the team manager and threaten her before saying that she wasted preparation time which cost India the semi-final.
"Her irresponsible behaviour took my time away as I was supposed to speak with a few players regarding preparations for the all-important semi-final match, which could not happen.
"Biju George [fielding coach] gave a feedback that Mithali was not interested in fielding drills with intensity. He tried to convince her every time but she did not improve."
Mithali Raj responds with emotional tweet
Mithali Raj responded to Powar's 10-page damning report about her with an emotional tweet where she expressed sadness and hurt for the allegations levelled against her.
She went on to say that her patriotism was doubted and skill set was questioned even after two decades of hard work and sweat for the national team.
She called it the darkest day of her life.
I'm deeply saddened & hurt by the aspersions cast on me. My commitment to the game & 20yrs of playing for my country.The hard work, sweat, in vain.
— Mithali Raj (@M_Raj03) November 29, 2018
Today, my patriotism doubted, my skill set questioned & all the mud slinging- it's the darkest day of my life. May god give strength
Powar responds with a tweet of his own
In a cryptic picture posted by him, Powar seemingly defended his ground by saying that forgiveness is sometimes more about internal peace rather than anything else.
— ramesh powar (@imrameshpowar) November 29, 2018
Mithali received a word of advice from Sourav Ganguly amidst the fiasco and 'Dada' welcomed the women's ODI captain to a club he is synonymous with – that of dropped India captains.
