Ramesh Powar appointed India women's team coach

Ramesh Powar, the former India off-spinner was on Tuesday officially appointed head coach of the national women's team till the end of November.  Powar, who was in charge of the team in an interim basis since Tushar Arothe's resignation from the position in July, will continue to oversee the side.

"The BCCI has appointed Ramesh Powar as head coach of the Indian women's team. Powar has now been handed over full time duties till November 30, 2018," BCCI said in a statement.

Powar carries vast experience of featuring in 2 Tests and 31 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) for India, he has also featured 148 first-class matches and 28 T20s. However, Powar, who has no prior coaching experience, will embark on his first stint since returning from Australia after doing Level III course in coaching.

Powar's appointment as head coach comes on the back the national women's team's inconsistent performances. Despite their stunning show in the 2017 50-over World Cup, India failed to cross the final hurdle in the form England.

After the World Cup heartbreak, India defeated South Africa in both ODIs and T20Is away from home in February this year. However, they couldn't qualify for the final of the tri-nation T20I series at home also involving England and Australia.

The Indian Eves bounced back by winning the subsequent three match ODI rubber against England, but failed to carry their form into the T20I Asia Cup final where they went down to Bangladesh.

His tenure with the national team will now include tours to Sri Lanka and the Caribbean, and will also include the ICC Women's World T20 2018, to start in November, in the West Indies.

"His term will include the tour to Sri Lanka in September, a bilateral series in the West Indies in October followed by the ICC Women's World T20 in the West Indies in November," the statement further said.

Powar, now 40, played two Tests and 31 one-day internationals between 2004 and 2007, picking up 40 wickets overall. He also played over a decade-and-a-half of first-class cricket, mainly for Mumbai, returning 470 wickets at an average of 31.31.