Ahead Of Home Series Against Australia, Hrishikesh Kanitkar Appointed Head Coach Of Women's Cricket Team

Hrishikesh Kanitkar will replace Ramesh Powar as the head coach of the women's cricket team while the latter will join the National Cricket Academy as a spin bowling coach.

Yash Dhull of India and Hrishikesh Kanitkar, who was the head coach of the team, pose with the ICC U-19 men's cricket World Cup trophy.

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Former Indian cricketer Hrishikesh Kanitkar has been appointed the batting coach of the senior women's team. His appointment comes ahead of the T20 International series against Australia. The first of the five-match series will be played at the DY Patil Stadium in Delhi.

Kanitkar made his ODI debut in 1997 and played 34 matches till 2000, scoring 339 runs. He played 2 Tests in his career and scored 74 runs. Kanitkar has over 10,000 first-class runs under his belt.

Beginning 2011, Kanitkar has coached several teams at various levels of the game. He was the coach of the India U-19 team that won the World Cup earlier this year. He also coached the Goa and Tamil Nadu Ranji teams. He was also a part of the coaching team under VVS Laxman that trained the Indian team for the recent New Zealand tour.

Sports news website Cricbuzz quoted Kanitkar as saying: "It is an honour to be appointed as the new batting coach of the 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."

Meanwhile, head coach of the Indian women’s cricket team Ramesh Powar is set to join the National Cricket Academy (NCA) under VVS Laxman. He will work as the spin bowling coach for men’s cricket now. Powar had been appointed the head coach of the women’s team in 2021 after VVS Laxman relinquished the post to join the NCA as its head.

According to Cricbuzz, Laxman reacted to Powar's appointment to the NCA, saying: "We are sure he will bring his expertise and experience to the National Cricket Academy. Having worked in domestic, age-group cricket and the international circuit, I am sure he will play an active role in the betterment of the game. I look forward to working with him in his new role at the NCA."