The Committee of Administrators set up a four-member committee to work out the core coaching requirements of the Indian men's cricket team and terms for hiring Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan as overseas batting and bowling consultants respectively. All appointments will be finalised after consulting the newly-appointed Team India coach, Ravi Shastri.
“We received a confirmation from CAC for Mr Ravi Shastri as head coach. We decided that for further coaches and others, we must have a discussion with Ravi Shastri. He is abroad, he will come back tomorrow or day after,” said CoA chairman Vinod Rai. He was speaking to mediapersons after he and Diana Edulji—the two remaining members of the CoA—met with BCCI CEO Rahul Johri.
“We have set up a committee comprising Diana, acting BCCI president C.K. Khanna, acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary and CEO Rahul Johri as convenor, who will speak to Ravi Shastri and others.” He added that the CoA will be the final approving authority.
The committee will meet on July 18 in Mumbai to finalise all terms of appointments. The Indian team is scheduled to leave for Sri Lanka the next day.
Refuting reports that there was uncertainty regarding appointments of Dravid and Zaheer, Rai clarified that contracts have not been signed and, therefore, appointments were not done yet. “No such thing as contracts. Recommendations have been made and the CoA has to make a decision. The recommendations will be acted upon in consultation with the head coach,” he said.
Rai said the availability, willingness and conflict of interest of Dravid and Zaheer need to be ascertained before firming up their contracts. “Rahul Dravid has committed himself to being the India A and India U-19 coach. All the decisions will be taken by July 22.”
Dravid recently signed a contract with the BCCI, giving up all his Indian Premier League commitments. He was the chief mentor of the Delhi Daredevils team while continuing as the India U-19 and India A coach, while Khan was the captain of the team, who doubled up as the bowling coach, too.
When asked about the chances of Bharath Arun being brought on board again as the bowling coach, Rai said, without mentioning any names, “The support staff has been decided in consultation with Ravi Shastri. There is going to be a core support staff, with bowling, fielding and batting coaches. Any extra hands needed will be discussed with him once he is back. We have to consult each one of them and ensure there is no clash of interest.”
The CoA also instructed the BCCI to advertise immediately for the post of team manager for the senior men’s team, and for India A and U-19 teams. This is after the CoA found that managers for the Indian teams on tours were appointed to appease vote banks and officials of state associations rather than based on professional qualifications. The same four-member committee will scrutinise the applications for managers' post and select the candidates.
The CoA also decided to ensure proper implementation of instructions, and that, henceforth, office-bearers of the BCCI will also be invited to CoA meetings.
