India Women's Team coaching role: Who all are there in the race?

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The BCCI has shortlisted five names for the role of India's Women's Coach. The position is vacant since Ramesh Powar was sacked from his duties last year.

The final selection is set to be announced on Monday (July 3) when a three-person Cricket Advisory Committee will take on the call to appoint the next head coach of the Indian Women's Team.

Amol Muzumdar, Tushar Arothe and Jon Lewis are among the five names who are currently front runners to claim the job. Interim India women's head coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar is also in the mix.

Kanitkar took the interim job after Powar's sacking, and took India to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup earlier in 2023.

Ashok Malhotra, a former India batter is chairing the CAC with Jatin Paranjape and Sulakshana Naik being the other members. The CAC is expected to make their call soon, but on our reckoning, Amol Muzumdar is the one who may end up at the helm of Indian Women's Team.

Amol Muzumdar, the former Mumbai captain, has been a stalwart in domestic cricket. He resigned from his role as Mumbai's coach after the 2022-23 season. It is reported that Muzumdar has offers from Baroda to be their head coach for the upcoming season, but he is waiting for CAC's decision.

But there are ample reasons why Muzumdar looks likely to land the job.

Why Muzumdar is ahead in the race

The former Mumbai player knows the pulses of domestic cricket. He has coached age-group sides at NCA, has been a serial winner for Mumbai and also has experience coaching at different levels.

Muzumdar was part of Rajasthan Royals in IPL, whereas he was also part of the South African coaching team when they toured India in 2019. All of his rich past credentials make Muzumdar a top contender for the job.

Muzumdar is well respected among the Indian women's team as he has been part of the commentary panel which covers various domestic women's tournaments.

Arothe and Lewis' obstacles

Tushar Arothe has had two stints with the Indian women's team in the past. His departure from the post in 2018 was an unceremonious one, where he was at odds with some senior players.

Although the Indian women's team is a different abode at present, BCCI may not want the same personnel who clashed with players once again.

For Jon Lewis, despite his decent credentials, the language barrier can be an issue in the Indian women's team. He is also the coach of the Trent Rockets team in Women's hundred. But it will be a big call to hand the job to someone who is very less equipped with Indian cricket and its pulse.

Kanitkar can be a dark horse

If the CAC decides to take a safe and settled call, Hrishikesh Kantikar can be an option. The former India batter took the interim role after Powar's departure, and did fairly well.

He is an NCA-certified coach and is currently in charge of the under-19 probables at the NCA camp in Bengaluru.