Rahul Dravid likely to end association with the IPL

What’s the story?

India ‘A’ and U-19 coach Rahul Dravid has reportedly agreed to sign a 12-month contract with the BCCI that would effectively end his association with the Delhi Daredevils franchise of the IPL.

Earlier, the BCCI’s contract system allowed coaches to sign a 10-month deal with the board, thereby making them available for domestic T20 competitions – predominantly the IPL – for the remaining two months of the year, and earn incentives through their services.

It has been learned that Dravid met Rahul Johri, the BCCI CEO on Sunday and talks are in progress to finalize his new contract.

“We're likely to finalize his fresh contract when we meet him today. He's fine with accepting a 12-month contract for two years, which means that he'll have to quit as the mentor of Delhi Daredevils. The only issue is compensation and we expect him to come up with a figure we can afford," a TOI source said.

Dravid was reportedly earning Rs. 8 crore – 4 crores from his India ‘A’ contract and another 4 crores from his IPL duties – and the quoted source hoped that a remuneration package closer to what Dravid was originally earning could be agreed upon.

“We're hoping he quotes a reasonable figure for himself because the senior Indian team's coach would have to be higher. At the same time, we don't want him to suffer losses for missing out on IPL duty.”

In case you didn’t know...

Dravid was disappointed with the way the former member of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA), Ramchandra Guha, had mentioned coaches of his legion as the ones ‘twisting the loopholes within the BCCI system’ to meet their own needs.

In an earlier statement, the former India captain had expressed displeasure over the way his name was supposedly dragged into the ‘conflict of interest’ issue by writing to the CoA for clarity.

At the time, Dravid told ESPN Cricinfo, “I have written to the CoA explaining my position and explaining the background against which this perceived conflict of interest has happened.

“By the BCCI's conflict of interest rules, I was absolutely not under a conflict of interest. If the rules have changed midway through the contract, then I think it is unfair to criticize me for breaking the rules or twisting the rules to suit my convenience.”

Dravid has worked with the Delhi Daredevils as their mentor for the past two IPL seasons

Details

The controversy first surfaced when Guha, an eminent historian and author, resigned from his post of a member of the CoA citing ineptness on the part of the BCCI and the CoA itself in terms of complying with the Lodha reforms.

In his strongly-worded letter to Vinod Rai, the CoA chief, Guha expressed displeasure on a range of issues from the perceived ‘superstar culture’ in the BCCI to the conflicts of interests across various domains.

One such issue mentioned in the letter was the case of coaches been involved with the IPL teams as well as various teams at the domestic and international level. Guha had cited an example of a particular coach being absent from his duties at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) owing to IPL commitments.

Responding to these allegations and seeking clarity on the issue, Dravid had approached the BCCI administration, and this development seems to have been born out of it.

What’s next?

It was reported that Dravid’s contract as the India ‘A’ and U-19 coach had been extended by the BCCI, but now we’re learning that such developments are still on the negotiation table.

However, in all likelihood, and given the way the Indian junior team has performed under Dravid’s tutelage, he is expected to continue as the coach. The compensation in lieu of giving up IPL duties should be an issue to address.

Author’s take

The times are such that even after a year since the date the Supreme Court of India passed a verdict directing the BCCI to implement the reforms of the Lodha Panel, most State Associations and the central board itself are at loggerheads with the Court, creating various obstacles – the latest of which seems to be the ‘special committee’ formed to swiftly implement the Lodha reforms; it took 11 months for the BCCI to form this committee in the first place – in the path of ‘swift’ implementation.

In such a scenario, Dravid’s proactiveness and the board’s willingness to address one of those contentious issues through a fast-tracked mechanism comes as a welcome move. If materialized, this deal could set a precedent for all such contracts in the picture who have been reported to be conflicting with national duties.