In what looks like a landmark move for women’s cricket in India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has appointed three specialist coaching figures at its Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru—marking the first time the board has brought in a full trio of former India women’s cricketers specifically to work as women’s cricket specialists at the facility. The CoE, previously known as the National Cricket Academy, will now have former internationals driving skills in the three key disciplines of batting, bowling and fielding.
BCCI CoE Bengaluru gets three former India women’s specialists
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Nooshin Al Khadeer has been named bowling coach at the CoE. A former off-spinner for India, she featured in five Women’s Tests, taking 14 wickets at an average of 26.64, and also played 78 Women’s ODIs, picking up 100 wickets at 24.02. She further represented India in two T20 Internationals, taking one wicket at 41.00. Her playing career for India ran from 2002 to 2012.
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Sunetra Paranjpe has been appointed batting coach. An ex-India allrounder, she appeared in three Women’s Tests and 28 Women’s ODIs between 2002 and 2007. She also led Mumbai’s women’s team for the last three seasons, with Mumbai clinching Women’s domestic T20 titles in consecutive campaigns in 2023-24 and 2024-25 while she was in charge. Before that stint, she served as head coach of Baroda for three seasons.
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Vellaswamy Ramu Vanitha, popularly known as “VR”, takes charge as fielding coach. She played six ODIs and 16 T20Is for India from 2014 to 2016.
VVS Laxman continues in his role as Head of Cricket at the BCCI’s CoE in Bengaluru. While the board has previously recruited a number of ex-players into coaching roles at the centre, this is the first time a group of former India women’s cricketers has been brought in together as specialist coaches focused on women’s cricket at the high-performance venue.
Former India women’s team captain Diana Edulji praised the development, calling it an encouraging step for the sport in the country. She said the appointments reflect how much women’s cricket has progressed in India and that the BCCI is approaching the game with serious intent. Edulji also linked the move to the momentum following India’s maiden Women’s World Cup triumph last year, adding that the trio will help strengthen the future pipeline—particularly because such coaches are expected to work with India A, the Emerging Women’s team, and India Under-19 during tours.
More coaching hires at the CoE
The BCCI has also expanded its coaching staff at the same CoE with additional specialist appointments. Three fast-bowling coaches have been brought in, including former India pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji and former first-class pacer P Krishna Kumar. Yere Goud, a former Karnataka batter, has been hired as the batting coach, while Dishant Yagnik—an ex-Rajasthan wicketkeeper—has taken over as fielding coach at the Bengaluru centre.
India women’s tour of England and Women’s T20 World Cup timeline
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The Indian women’s team is currently in England for an extended tour lasting nearly two months.
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The schedule includes a landmark one-off Women’s Test at Lord’s, with India and England set to play from July 10-13.
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Looking ahead to the global calendar, the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup will begin on June 12, with England taking on Sri Lanka at Birmingham on the opening night.
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India will open their tournament campaign on June 14 against traditional arch-rivals Pakistan at Birmingham.
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India have been placed in Group A, where they will face Netherlands, South Africa, Bangladesh and Australia in the group stage.
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Before the World Cup, India will play a T20 warm-up game against the ECB Development XI on Monday at the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground in Chelmsford.
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On Tuesday, the India women’s team will train under lights at the same venue.
BCCI appoints Rajesh Dhar as manager for India’s men’s home series
In another appointment, Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association’s Rajesh Dhar has been named manager by the BCCI for a short home series. The arrangement includes a one-off Test at New Chandigarh and three ODIs scheduled for June.
