Rahul Dravid's salary increased from Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 5 crore per annum

What’s the story?

India ‘A’ and U-19 coach Rahul Dravid’s emoluments, in lieu of his services as the coach of the junior men’s teams, have been hiked by 100 percent, and the cricketer would now receive Rs. 5 crore per annum, raised from Rs. 2.5 crore that he was paid under his previous contract.

The BCCI had announced yesterday that Dravid’s contract as the India ‘A’ and U-19 coach had been renewed for a period of two years and that the Indian veteran would be working only with the junior teams without any outside commitments during this period.

This was done partly to end the coaching dilemma that had prevailed over the junior men’s team – aside from the senior men’s side, wherein it can be witnessed in a much graver capacity – since Dravid’s previous contract had expired on March 31 this year.

BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary said, “Rahul Dravid is known for the discipline and commitment he brings to the table. He has been successful in grooming the youngsters in the last two years. I wish him all the very best for his assignments with the two teams for the next two years.”

In case you didn’t know...

Allaying all conflict of interest allegations, and in an indirect response to Ramchandra Guha’s questions raised over coaches switching between international/domestic Indian sides, Dravid had sought clarity from the BCCI last month over the details of his previous contract – that was signed for a ten-month period, thereby enabling him to coach IPL sides for the remaining two months of the year – and details on how did his actions lead to a potential conflict of interest.

In response, the CoA chairman, Vinod Rai, had expressed that the BCCI would formulate contracts that are universal and not person-based to avoid any such conflict, and the results are now being seen with Dravid being asked to end his ties with the IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils, something he has readily agreed to.

Details

When it was reported that Dravid had decided to end his association with the IPL, the question that begged was how would the BCCI be able to compensate Dravid for foregoing his IPL contract with the Daredevils.

“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,” a BCCI source had revealed at the time.

That prospect of negotiation, it seems has now been successful as a 100% pay hike has been acceptable to both the parties.

Dravid has been immensely successful during his previous coaching stint, helping India U-19 reach the ICC U-19 World Cup final and securing limited-overs series wins in Australia and at home.

What’s next?

Dravid’s first assignment of his second stint as the coach of the side would be India A’s tour to South Africa, comprising for a 50-over tri-series and two four-day matches.

The India ‘A’ squad for the tour has already been named with Manish Pandey and Karun Nair being chosen to lead the side in the 50-over and the four-day games, respectively.

The team would leave for South Africa in the last week of July and Dravid is likely to accompany them. However, the coach would be missing out on India U-19 tourney to England that begins on July 19, which would last for a month, as the dates of the tours clash.

“He (Dravid) will go with India A tour to look after fringe players. There will be also one series with New Zealand A post the South Africa trip. Rahul will be available with India under-19 in the month of October. As the under-19 World Cup is next year itself, he will be getting four months with the players,” a BCCI official told The Indian Express.

Author’s take

With several of the Lodha Panel reforms being vehemently opposed and their implementation stalled, the BCCI old-guard has been setting all the wrong precedents as far as a fresh approach to cricket governance in the country is concerned, after the Supreme Court of India directed it to implement the sweeping reforms recommended by the Justice RM Lodha-led committee in July last year.

In such a scenario and keeping the predicaments in mind – that has already led to the resignation of one CoA member amongst others – the clarity on the Dravid issue sets the right example in terms of smooth governance and compliance with the suggested reforms.

With a uniform contract system now in place, that is universal for all coaches and not person-specific, the coaching structure in domestic as well as international cricket is expected to be streamlined and free of conflicts.