Team India Consultant role could be 'compensation' for Rahul Dravid's IPL loss

What’s the story?

Former India captain Rahul Dravid, who chose coaching Team India’s junior squads over mentoring IPL sides, could be getting some sort of a ‘compensation’ from the BCCI in the form of his new role as the senior team’s batting consultant.

According to a report in The Times of India, Dravid, who will now assist the Indian Test batsmen on select overseas tours, was ‘obliged’ to be offered a compensation for letting go of Delhi Daredevils’ mentorship in the IPL.

In case you didn’t know…

Dravid, along with head coach Ravi Shastri and bowling coach Zaheer Khan, was named in the three-member coaching staff announced by the BCCI earlier this week. Selected by the Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, the declaration came after the culmination of a gruelling process that lasted almost two months.

The heart of the matter

Dravid was not in the fray for a coaching role in any capacity when the BCCI started a fresh search for a new head coach in May. Given a new contract for coaching both the India-A and U-19 sides recently, Dravid’s clause was being re-worked by the BCCI’s legal team to accommodate the new role, which states that he’ll be only called for tours when needed.

Dravid is set to pocket Rs. 4.5 crore every year, with an increment of 10% in each passing year. Given his new role, he is supposed to get a certain additional amount of his original salary. With the Delhi IPL franchise, he would have made close to Rs. 4 crores.

What’s next?

The duo of Ravi Shastri and Zaheer Khan will have their task cut out on their first coaching assignment: India’s tour to Sri Lanka later this month. Dravid is unlikely to travel with the senior team due to his commitments with the India-A team, who are set to tour South Africa, also later this month.

Author’s take

The claims, if true, highlight that Dravid’s selection as a consultant doesn’t have just a sound cricketing decision attached to it. An underlying ‘contract’ aspect could have compelled the board to onboard the former India captain, who already has his hands full with the India-A and U-19 sides.

Also, given that the designation says that he is a consultant who will be called on for foreign Test tours when required, it will be interesting to see how often Dravid finds time to be actually seen with the senior team, and when exactly the management find it apt to classify a tour as one that requires his services.