The Board of Control for Cricket in India has taken a historic step by appointing three specialist women's coaches at its Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. For the first time, former India women cricketers have been recruited as full-time batting, bowling, and fielding coaches at the facility, which was previously known as the National Cricket Academy.
Appointments at the Centre of Excellence
The newly appointed coaches are Nooshin Al Khadeer (bowling coach), Sunetra Paranjpe (batting coach), and Vellaswamy Ramu Vanitha (fielding coach). They will work under the guidance of VVS Laxman, the Head of Cricket at the CoE. While many former cricketers have served as coaches at the CoE, this is the first time a dedicated batch of ex-India women's players has been hired for women's cricket development.
Coaching Profiles
Nooshin Al Khadeer, a former off-spinner, represented India from 2002 to 2012, playing five Women's Tests (14 wickets at 26.64), 78 Women's ODIs (100 wickets at 24.02), and two T20Is (one wicket at 41.00). She recently led the India Under-19 Women's team to victory in the 2023 and 2025 U-19 Women's T20 World Cups as head coach.
Sunetra Paranjpe, an ex-allrounder, played three Tests and 28 ODIs for India between 2002 and 2007. She has been the head coach of the Mumbai women's team for the last three seasons, guiding them to back-to-back domestic T20 titles in 2023-24 and 2024-25. Prior to that, she coached Baroda for three seasons.
Vellaswamy Ramu Vanitha, a former batter, played six ODIs and 16 T20Is for India from 2014 to 2016.
Reactions and Impact
Former India women's team captain Diana Edulji praised the BCCI's decision, calling it a significant step for women's cricket. She said, "It shows how much women's cricket has grown in India and that the BCCI is taking it very seriously. This trio will help build the bench strength for women's cricket, as they are likely to accompany India A, the Emerging women's team, and India Under-19 tours."
Other Coaching Hires
The BCCI has also appointed former India pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji and former first-class pacer P Krishna Kumar as fast-bowling coaches at the CoE. Former Karnataka batter Yere Goud has been hired as a batting coach, while former Rajasthan wicketkeeper Dishant Yagnik has taken over as a fielding coach.
Women's Team in England
The Indian women's cricket team is currently on an almost two-month tour of England, which includes a historic one-off Women's Test at Lord's from July 10 to 13. The 2026 Women's T20 World Cup is scheduled to start on June 12, with India launching their campaign against Pakistan on June 14 in Birmingham. Placed in Group A, India will face the Netherlands, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Australia. The team will play a T20 warm-up match against ECB Development XI in Chelmsford on Monday and train under lights at the same venue on Tuesday.
Manager Appointment
In another first, Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association's Rajesh Dhar has been appointed as the manager for the Indian men's team during the home series against Afghanistan, which includes a one-off Test in New Chandigarh and three ODIs in June.
