Powar was at the helm as a young India side reached the semi-finals of the Women’s World T20 last month. However, after a falling out with Mithali Raj, the ODI captain, the BCCI opted not to trigger the extension clause in his contract that would have kept him in the role till the end of November 2019.

The move proved a divisive one, with the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana – captain and vice-captain of the T20I side – each writing a letter to the BCCI, throwing their weight behind Powar, asking for him to be retained.

Edulji, in fact, wanted Powar to continue in the role, and in a trail of emails exchanged with Rai, she reopened the controversy surrounding the men’s head coach last year, when Anil Kumble stepped down after “untenable” differences with Virat Kohli, paving the way for Ravi Shastri to take over.

Rai replied saying “team votes” cannot be considered when deciding a coach, that “this chapter has to be closed and the earlier the better”.

A new coach is expected to be in place before India Women travel to New Zealand in January.