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Cricketer Rahul Dravid to coach Indian Team

Cricketer Rahul Dravid has agreed to become the coach of the Indian cricket team after  BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah held a meeting and persuaded him to the become the coach of the Indian team.

Ending months of speculation on who will coach the Indian team, Dravid’s appointment puts a lid on the speculation. The tenure of the current ccoach Ravi Shastri, comes to an end after the T20 World Cup.

While it was widely reported that Dravid remains the frontrunner for the post of interim coach for the upcoming home series with New Zealand, “Dravid has confirmed he will be the next head coach of the Indian team. He will be stepping down as head coach of NCA soon," said a top BCCI officialIf media reports are to be believed, there remains the matter of inviting formal applications and Dravid applying for the post. It is also learnt that Dravid will draw a salary of Rs 10 crore and will be given a two-year contract.

While Vikram Rathour is likely to continue as the batting coach, former Mumbai pacer Paras Mhambrey will take over from Bharat Arun as the bowling coach.  Mhambrey has been Dravid’s deputy at the NCA and has worked extensively with India A and Under-19 bowlers. A decision is awaited on the fielding coach for the Indian team.

The BCCI had always indicated its preference for an experienced player to mentor and several seasoned players, including the Australians, had shown interest in taking up the job. The BCCI had earlier also indicated its preference for Anil Kumble, who was forced to quit over differences with skipper Virat Kohli, to take over the role but the cricketer had recused himself. Kumble is currently the head coach of the IPL franchise Punjab Kings.

It may be recalled that iconic former captain Dhoni was last month was brought in as mentor of India’s 15-member T20 World Cup squad by the BCCI, a move that everyone by surprise.