What India women can expect from WV Raman

Few men in India have covered the entire gamut of the coaching spectrum like WV Raman. He has coached Tamil Nadu and Bengal, been part of Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders and briefly even held the India A job in 2008, but the biggest validation of his coaching credentials may have come only recently, having played a key role in charting the revival of the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.

Once touted by a now-retired domestic cricketer as a 'paradise for good food and great weather in the summer', the NCA was in an abyss until 2015. Physios, coaches and trainers didn't know what they should do. There was a chairperson, but his duties were unclear. Also, there seemed to be little in sync between the NCA and the selectors.

When he took over as batting coach in 2015, Raman, the former India opener, along with Narendra Hirwani, the bowling coach, demarcated responsibilities to methodically groom the next set of age-group talent, apart from working with senior players who have used the facility to regain match fitness.

Outside of the NCA, Raman has been on a number of tours with India Under-19 teams, and has set up a new pathway for cricketers, many of whom have been fast-tracked for a higher honours. Raman has been pivotal towards the building of this assembly line, acting as a feeder for Rahul Dravid while he has been away on overseas tours as head coach of India A. Raman's experience of being a well-travelled domestic cricket commentator too has come in handy.

Handling young groups apart, Raman has a demonstrated history of dispute resolution. In his stint with Bengal in 2011-12, there were public differences between senior cricketers Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Manoj Tiwary. The fight for captaincy in the aftermath of Sourav Ganguly's retirement from all forms of cricket threatened to derail the side. But he managed to tide over the crisis, with Bengal winning the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the domestic 50-over competition in 2012, by beating Mumbai in the final.

Raman took over the Tamil Nadu job for the second time in the aftermath of personal issues between two senior players. To his credit, he managed to pull the side through the muddle and they reached the Ranji Trophy final in his second season, in 2014-15.

Now with the women's team, one of his first tasks will be to defuse a clash of personalities. While Mithali Raj may say publicly that "I have no problems with Harmanpreet Kaur", there is enough evidence of a possible rift. Raman will only know too well a senior player feuding over batting positions can't be the best way to begin an overseas assignment. They go to New Zealand in January while there's only 15 months left for the next Women's World T20 in Australia.

As a coach, there has also been talk of Raman being a hard task-master and a disciplinarian prone to flashes of short temper. Former players he had coached termed him aloof when he first joined a team but that perception has also thawed.

Abhinav Mukund, the Tamil Nadu captain until last season, said of Raman in an interview with ESPNcricinfo: "I have always felt he used to take a lot of pressure from external sources and protect the younger players from it. He would never give me any sort of bullshit, which is something I always appreciate. We had a lot of arguments about my technique. I could tell him that I wasn't comfortable with it.

"Even as captain, we used to have arguments about a certain player, but at the end of the day he would give me the player I wanted. A lot of people think he is extremely short tempered, but I genuinely feel he's a reasonable man."

When it comes to the technicalities and an eye for talent, there are few that can match Raman. In 2008, he was convinced of Manish Pandey's future as a batting star, even before the player had made his Ranji Trophy debut. A decade on, Pandey is on the fringes of India's limited-overs teams but the impact he's had for Karnataka, various India A sides and KKR are undeniable.

As a coach, Raman is instinct-driven. Numbers and analytics only complement his style, and aren't the sole criteria for his functioning. In 2013, soon after he was dropped from the Test side, Gautam Gambhir turned to Raman for one-on-one sessions. It was there that Raman suggested Gambhir bat with a slightly-open stance, a method that would define his batting for a better part of his next six years as a first-class cricketer.

The jury may be out on whether the change brought Gambhir the kind of prolific returns he managed in the first half of his career. But that Raman wasn't afraid to suggest something radical to an experienced cricketer - a two-time World Cup winner - indicated his strong personality and the respect he commands as an astute reader of the game.

The women's team is in need of someone who can take charge with a vision for the greater good. Raman has the credentials, and his test will be in how he manages to tide over the current clash between his ODI captain and the T20I captain. This conflict-resolution could define his legacy, which could yet mark the start of a defining period in Indian women's cricket.