Vinod Rai comes up more shocking revelations: Men’s jerseys were re-stitched for women; They didn’t get food!

Rai
has
been
in
the
news
for
all
wrong
reasons
after
his
book

Not
just
a
Nightwatchman
was
released
in
which
he
has
written
about
his
tumultous
tenure
in
cricket
administration.

It
may
be
recalled
that
Rai
had
served
as
the
head
of
the
Supreme
Court-appointed
CoA
of
the
BCCI.

The
33-month
stint
that
lasted
between
2017
and
2019
witnessed
one
of
the
most
controversial
incidents
in
Indian
cricket
—
the
Anil
Kumble
vs
Virat
Kohli
spat
—
which
he
has
discussed
length
in
his
book.

Virat
Kohli
vs
Anil
Kumble
Rift:
Former
CoA
chief
Vinod
Rai
opens
up
about
bitter
episode
in
his
book

However,
there
was
an
equally
bigger
revelation
that
he
made
in
his
book
which
highlights
the
sad
state
of
women’s
cricket
in
India.

Rai
said
one
of
his
greatest
regret
that
was
he
could
not
pay
enough
attention
to
women’s
cricket,
making
the
most
saddening
revelation
that
the
earlier
jerseys
used
by
women
cricketers
were
actually
re-stitched
from
men’s
jerseys.

Speaking
about
the
sad
state
of
affairs
of
women’s
cricket
in
India,
Rai
revealed
in
the
freewheeling
interview
that
that
he
had
to
call-up
then
kit
manufacturers

Nike
to
ask
them
to
design
women’s
jerseys
separately
as
earlier
the
men’s
jersey’s
were
being
“cut-up
and
re-stitched”
for
the
women.

“I
do
not
think
women’s
cricket
has
been
given
the
attention
it
deserves.
Unfortunately,
women
cricketers
had
not
been
taken
seriously
till
about
2006,
when
Mr
Sharad
Pawar
took
the
initiative
to
merge
the
men’s
and
women’s
association.
I
was
aghast
to
know
that
men’s
uniforms
were
being
cut
up
and
re-stitched
for
women’s
players.
I
had
to
ring
up

Nike
and
tell
them
that
this
was
not
on
and
that
their
design
would
be
different.

“I
sincerely
believe
the
girls
deserved
much
better
when
it
came
to
training,
coaching
facilities,
cricketing
gear,
travel
facilities
and,
finally,
match
fees
and
retainers.
That
was
lacking
and
we
tried
to
rectify
it,”
Rai
added.

He
also
added
that
women’s
cricket
got
its
due
attention
only
after
India
reached
the
final
of
the
2017
ICC
Womens’ World
Cup,
in
which
Harmanpreet
Kaur
played
a
knock
of
171
not
out
to
power
India
to
the
final.

“That
is
an
alibi
for
not
doing
things.
Unless
you
give
them
support,
how
are
they
going
to
win
a
trophy?
If
they
could
not
win
in
Australia
or
England,
the
main
thing
was
mind
conditioning.
Every
team
has
those
mental
trainers
and
sports
psychologists.

“My
regret
was
that
I
had
not
given
due
attention
to
women’s
cricket
till
the
match
in
which
Harmanpreet
Kaur
scored
171
not
out
in
the
2017
ICC
Women’s
World
Cup
against
Australia.

Harmanpreet
(Kaur)
told
me,
“Sir,
I
was
cramping
so
I
had
to
hit
sixes
as
I
could
not
run
much!”
They
were
told
at
the
hotel
that
they
could
not
get
the
food
they
were
supposed
to,
so
they
had
samosas
for
breakfast
that
morning!,”
Rai
revealed
further
in
the
interview
which
has
sent
shock
waves
all
over
the
cricket
community.

(With
inputs
from
Agencies)