Hrishikesh Kanitkar appointed batting coach of Indian team; Ramesh Powar removed as head coach

The BCCI, on Tuesday, named Hrishikesh Kanitkar as the batting coach of the Indian women's cricket team and shifted Ramesh Powar from the position of the head coach of the team to the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

"Ramesh Powar, former Head Coach of the senior women's team will join Mr. VVS Laxman, Head Cricket, National Cricket Academy and will switch to Men's cricket as part of the restructuring module of the BCCI," a statement from the apex body read.

Hrishikesh Kanitkar is expected to join the Indian team as a batting coach from their five-match home T20 series starting on Friday.

"It is an honour to be appointed as the new Batting Coach of the Senior Women's team. I see tremendous prospects in this team and we have a good mix of youth and experience. I believe this team is ready for the challenge ahead. We have a few marquee events coming up and it is going to be exciting for the team and myself as batting coach," Kanitkar said.

Kanitkar's appointment as the head coach comes after his previous stint with the national team since the series against Sri Lanka in June, including the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games where India bagged the silver medal.

With just over two months to go for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023, the position of head coach with the Indian team now lays vacant.