Former Odisha and India opening batsman Shiv Sunder Das has been appointed as the batting coach of the India women cricket team for the upcoming tour of England next month. This was confirmed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today. The Indian team will tour England to play a one-off Test, 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is from 27 June to 15 July, 2021.

Former Odisha Ranji team captain and coach, Das previously worked with the India Women A team and this will be his first stint with the senior side. "This is a big opportunity for me to work with the women team and I am looking forward to it," Das said.

An employee of National Aluminium Company (Nalco), Das featured in 23 Tests and 4 ODIs between 2000-02 and amassed 1365 runs. After quitting the sport, he went on to coach domestic teams and was associated with the National Cricket Academy, where he worked with his former teammate Rahul Dravid.

As of now, the contract of 43-year-old Das is limited to the tour of England. However, a good show could see him getting a longer rope. Das was a part of the Indian team that toured England under Ganguly in 2002 and scored a 250 in a first-class tour game.

He believes that his experience of having played years of league cricket in England will prove to be very helpful. "It will be a good experience and I am looking forward to it. I have been part of NCA for the last 4-5 years and have been batting coach for the last couple of years. I would like to thank Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly for giving me this opportunity," said Das who has played all his cricket under the captaincy of the current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly.

Das also played 180 First-Class, 81 List-A and 3 T20 matches in his domestic career, spanning from 1993-94 to 2012-13. In First-Class cricket, he scored 10,908 runs, including 24 centuries and a highest of 300 not out.

BCCI has also confirmed the names of Abhay Sharma as fielding coach and Rajkuvardevi Gaekwad as the manager of the Indian women team. Among the other support staff, trainer R Naresh, video analyst Sandeep Raju and masseuse Neerja Desai feature in the list. Last week the BCCI appointed Ramesh Powar as the head coach of the side.