The Indian women’s cricket team has been playing without a head coach since Ramesh Powar was sacked in December. Even during the T20 World Cup in February, the team played without the head of the coaching staff. To streamline the coaching process and prepare for the next ICC event, the BCCI has decided to offer long-term contracts to the team’s support staff instead of appointing them on an ad-hoc basis. The head coach is supposed to be picked by the Cricket Advisory Committee while the selectors pick the support staff, as per the BCCI constitution. However, the rule regarding the women’s team support staff has not been followed strictly in the past.
According to a BCCI source, “All the coaches will be given long-term contracts and it will not a temporary arrangement like we have seen in the past. This will give the team much-needed stability.” The decision was taken at the virtual Apex Council meeting held on Sunday. The senior women’s team is yet to win a world title, and streamlining the coaching process will be the first step in its preparation for the next ICC event.
The media rights for the home season, both international and domestic for the 2023-2027 cycle, were also part of the agenda at the meeting. However, no concrete decision was taken on the subject. After the Rs 48,390 crore windfall from the IPL media rights, the BCCI will have high expectations for the media rights for 2023-2027 cycle. With Viacom entering Indian cricket’s ecosystem, it will be a three-way battle between them, Star, and Sony. The BCCI reaped huge benefits from selling the broadcast and digital rights separately for IPL and is expected to follow that for international games at home. Star had paid Rs 6,138.1 crore for the previous cycle that ended on March 31.
In conclusion, offering long-term contracts to the Indian women’s cricket team’s support staff is an excellent decision by the BCCI to provide the team with much-needed stability. The senior women’s team is yet to win a world title, and streamlining the coaching process will be the first step in its preparation for the next ICC event. The media rights for the home season for the 2023-2027 cycle were also discussed at the Apex Council meeting, but no concrete decision was taken on the subject.
