Reports: Zaheer, Dravid not given contracts, decision to be taken by CoA

What's the story?

In perfect synchronisation with the already-existing drama over the appointment of the coach of the Indian cricket team and the consultants to the head coach -- namely Zaheer Khan, as the bowling coach, and Rahul Dravid, as the batting consultant for overseas tours -- the chairman of the Committee of Administrators (CoA), Vinod Rai, said on Saturday that no contracts have been awarded to either Khan or Dravid.

Rai also mentioned that the appointment of the aforementioned has not been verified by the CoA and that the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) -- which was tasked to pick the coach by the BCCI -- had merely recommended these names to the CoA.

Weighing in on the incumbent coach Ravi Shastri's statements, wherein he had expressed his desire to choose his own consultants, Rai mentioned that the final decision on who would be a part of the team's support staff would be taken after consulting the head coach.

It was also reported by Times Now that the financial terms of the support staff would be decided by a four-member committee, which would be formed by the BCCI.

In case you didn't know

Ravi Shastri was named the new coach of the Indian cricket team on July 11, after the three-member CAC decided against deferring the decision to a later date -- as was announced on July 10 -- so as to consult the captain Virat Kohli before naming a coach.

A day after Sourav Ganguly had postponed the announcement, the CoA stepped in and directed the CAC to name the selected candidate by the end of the day on July 11.

In a dramatic turn of events, Shastri was finally confirmed as the coach late in the night on Tuesday, after rumours of him being named the coach had been negated by the BCCI earlier in the evening on the same day.

Details

In the days following the appointment of Dravid and Khan in their respective capacities, Shastri had made his opinions felt on what he believes should be the ideal set of support staff for the team.

It was reported in the media that Shastri favoured former bowling coach Bharat Arun for the role instead of Khan, but that was in contravention to what the CAC felt.

Shastri's appointment itself was put under the radar when reports emerged that Sachin Tendulkar, a member of the CAC, wanted Shastri as the coach, whereas Ganguly, one of the other two members, wasn't in agreement with it.

Ganguly was also reported to have said that Khan was contracted only for 150 days, although no clarity has prevailed on what that statement was intended to convey.

What's next?

If these reports are to be believed, the ball is now in the CoA's court and they're expected to sit down and decide on which candidate, or how many for that matter, are fit to take up the responsibility.

As reported by ANI, the four-member committee would have Diana Edulji, a CoA member, CK Khanna, the acting president of the BCCI, Amitabh Choudhury, the secretary of the BCCI, and the BCCI CEO Rahul Johri as its members.

Johri would be chairing the panel.

Author's take

The ruckus that has prevailed since the interviews of prospective candidates for the post were conducted speaks of miscommunication, complete indifference towards public perception, and utter negligence of the Lodha recommendations on the BCCI's part.

The formation of the CAC and the powers vested in the committee to pick the coach are questionable. The Lodha recommendations, as mandated by the Supreme Court on July 18, 2016, specifically empower the three-member selection committee to pick the head coach of the team.

Now that the committee has done the job that it wasn't legally permitted to do, its decisions have been questioned and reports have been rephrased in what appears to be a strained state of affairs between the CAC and the CoA.

Tweet speak

For further coaches&others, must hv discussion with Ravi Shastri. Then we set up a committee of Diana,Acting Pres,Secy&CEO as Convener:V Rai pic.twitter.com/edD7AefvdI

— ANI (@ANI_news) July 15, 2017

No contracts have been given to Zaheer Khan and Rahul Dravid. They have not been appointed: CoA chief Vinod Rai

— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) July 15, 2017

Only recommendations have been made by CAC. The COA has to act on the recommendations: Vinod Rai on 'appointment' Zaheer Khan & Rahul Dravid

— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) July 15, 2017