The story:
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Friday (June 30), not only handed a two-year contract extension to Rahul Dravid as India A and Under-19 coach for the next two years but also gave him a 100 per cent pay hike.
As per a report in The Indian Express, both Dravid and board discussed for more than a couple of weeks before agreeing to the figure of Rs 5 crore for the former India skipper. Earlier this year in April, as per the board’s payment details released on their official website, Dravid was appointed for a professional fee of nearly Rs 2.62 crore — the second instalment of which, around Rs 1.3 crore, was paid to him on April 2.
No more IPL for Dravid:
Accepting to extend his contract as the coach of junior teams means Dravid would not be able to ply his trade in the Indian Premier League. Apart from being the coach of national sides, Dravid also served as the mentor for Delhi Daredevils but he would not continue in his role as Delhi Daredevils’ mentor, in accordance with the conflict-of-interest rules. According to the rule, all the India coaches and support staff will have a 12-month contract to avoid any conflict of interest.
Earlier, the BCCI gave its coaches 10-month contracts in addition to allowing them to be part of the IPL. But the new rule will now bar them from any other commitments.
First assignment:
Dravid’s first assignment after getting the contract extension will be India A’s tour of South Africa starting from July 26. A board official has confirmed that the former India international would travel to South Africa which means he will not be travelling with India under-19 as both tours will go on simultaneously. The India under-19 team will be on an England tour from July 19 for nearly a month.
“He (Dravid) will go with India A tour to look after fringe players. There will be also one series with New Zealand 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, the BCCI official was quoted as saying by the news outlet.