1. Gist of Powar's report
In the 10-page report submitted to the BCCI officials on Wednesday (November 29), Powar had accused Mithali of not playing for the team and chasing after "own milestones" during the recently concluded ICC Women's World T20 tournament in the West Indies.
2. What was in Powar's report
"I hope Mithali stops blackmailing, pressurising coaches and putting her interest first than the team," Powar said in his tour report which is almost entirely focussed on Mithali. "Before Pakistan match, video analyst Pushkar Sawant came to my room and said that fielding coach Biju George has conveyed to him that Mithali is upset with batting order and packed her bags with announcement of retirement in the morning," Powar wrote. "I was saddened by her attitude and it gave me an impression that Mithali Raj comes first and then India. She threw a lot of tantrums and created a lot of chaos," Powar said.
3. Why Mithali was not used as opener
In practice games she was struggling to score quickly, as wickets were low bounce & slow. Intent was missing. Could not lean and execute shots due to limited ability in skills & fitness. We wanted to make most of powerplay as powerplay was the most important phase of the match (considering slow pitches) to score big with hard ball & it was challenge to score against spinners. It was conveyed to her logically that she will be batting in middle order & she agreed too. (Before NZ match). Mithali's lack of intent to score quickly in practice games prompted us to open with Taniya Bhatiya (in first league game vs NZ) who always shown intent every time she batted. We used Taniya and Hemlatha in powerplay vs New Zealand which got us 24 runs in 13 balls. It's not always about individual milestones, it's always about team strategies and executions.
4. Mithali's stand against Powar
"For instance, walking off if I am sitting anywhere around, watching in the nets when others bat but choosing to walk away when I am batting in nets, if I try to go up to him to talk to start looking into his phone and keep walking. It was embarrassing and very evident to everyone that I was being humiliated. Yet I never lost my cool."