Owais Shah believes as India Women coach he can improve fitness standards

Women’s CricZone on Sunday (December 9) that he has applied for the post of India Women coach.

BCCI had advertised for the vacant post, asking applicants to send in their details by December 14, after the fallout between Ramesh Powar, whose three-month contract expired on November 30, and Mithali Raj became public through a series of leaked emails. Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, the T20I captain and vice-captain respectively, had then written to BCCI asking for Powar’s tenure to be renewed. The board is however keen to seek fresh applicants, and has scheduled an interview with the shortlisted candidates in Mumbai on December 20. The selected personnel will be given a two-year contract, with the tour of New Zealand in late January next year being the first assignment.

Shah is one of the big names along with South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs and Australia’s Dav Whatmore, who currently coaches Kerala, and Manoj Prabhakar to have shown interest in the vacant post.

If Powar, who it is believed has not yet applied, does not continue then India would have their fourth coach in 19 months after Purnima Rau was sacked before the 2017 World Cup and Tushar Arothe stepped down earlier this year. Shah, who represented England 94 times across three formats from 2001 to 2009, said that he is aware of the competition, but felt that his Asian background and playing in various T20 leagues around the world gives him an edge. He was born in Pakistan in 1978 before shifting to England. He was also the head coach of the United Arab Emirates men’s team for three months till January 2017.

“I am aware of the competition, but it’s up to the BCCI to make the decision. I am not worried about the competition. I wanted to put my name in the hat. I know I offer something different,” Shah told Women’s CricZone over telephone. “I followed the World T20 in the West Indies where India missed out after reaching the semifinal. I just felt that there are areas they can improve on certainly. I know how the England Women’s team have prepared in the past, I have seen some of the women train at Lord’s. They have a team element to them with the focus on winning the trophy.

“There is a big focus on fitness. The Indian girls can definitely be fitter, which will help them to achieve their goals,” he added. “I feel I bring all that, and also I am good with the language. I can speak fluent Hindi. I feel when it comes to communication I have the edge over other people.”

Shah said he was aware of the background against which the coach selection is being done, but was confident of handling different personalities within a dressing room.

“I was the head coach of UAE in the past. I know what’s required at that level. I have not only played enough cricket in India and know the conditions, but also played a lot of cricket out of India as well. I bring those expertise – how you can win in foreign conditions and not just in India. I have also played all over the world. I have played in Big Bash League, Bangladesh Premier League, CPL, IPL, England. I feel I have played in different countries and have got enough experience to pass on the knowledge to the team,” he continued. “For me, being a foreigner I won’t be biased towards anyone. It is all about managing different personalities. I have got an Asian background myself and was also raised in a multicultural city as London is. I understand people have different cultures and everyone comes from different walk of life. I am a well-rounded personality to cope with different personalities.”

Shah made his List A debut for Middlesex in 1995 and his last T20 was for Sylhet Superstars in the 2015 BPL, finishing a career of 21 years with 842 matches for 32,395 runs. As a player, he rates Richard Pybus as his favourite coach because “he taught me a lot about communication, dealing with different cultures. He man managed me very well.” He believed that his overall experience will come handy while coaching a women’s team for the first time.

“At the end of the day we are teaching cricket, and it doesn’t matter if it is a woman playing or a man playing. Yes, there are some differences in strength and things like that, but game of cricket is played with bat and ball. I don’t think the game changes whether it is a man playing or a woman playing,” Shah, who currently spends his time between delivering motivational speeches, little bit of coaching and real estate business, said. “Fitness angle is very important. I love fitness myself. I started off in the old era, but I finished my career in the new era. So, I have played in all the different eras. I understand both the modern player and old school player. I also understand the old school values, which I can teach to the players.”