Reports: Indian women's cricket team coaches to get long-term contracts

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly decided to end the practice of employing support staff on an a- hoc basis, which has ended up resulting in long-term contracts for the Indian women's cricket team. The Cricket Advisory Committee is intended to choose the team's head coach, while the selectors will choose the support staff, according to the BCCI constitution.

This rule has not been followed in the past in the case of the women's team support staff, which includes the batting, fielding, and bowling coaches. Notably, the BCCI currently appoints coaches on a temporary basis from the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

According to a recent report, the coaches would be given long-term contracts rather than a temporary arrangement as in the past. According to the report, this will successfully benefit the team by providing stability.

“All the coaches will be given long-term contracts and it will not a temporary arrangement as we have seen in the past. This will give the team much-needed stability,” a BCCI source told as quoted by The Indian Express.

The decision was made at the virtual Apex Council meeting on Sunday, April 9, according to the report. The India women's cricket team remained without a head coach after sacking Ramesh Powar in December last year. Notably, they competed in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in February 2023 without a head coach. 

The senior women's cricket team is yet to win a world championship and therefore, enhancing the coaching procedure will be the initial stage in preparing for the upcoming ICC competition.

The media rights for the home season, both international and domestic, for the 2023-2027 cycle were also addressed during the meeting. However, no official decision has been made in this regard.

Notably, the BCCI would have had high expectations for the media rights for the 2023-2027 season, considering the Rs 48,390 crore from the Indian Premier League (IPL). With the entry of Viacom into the Indian cricket industry, it will be a three-way competition between broadcasters like Star and Sony.