Ravi Shastri to get Rs 7.5 crore annually; Wants Sachin Tendulkar as the batting consultant for overseas tours
What's the story?
According to reports in Indian Express, the newly-appointed Indian coach Ravi Shastri will get Rs 7.5 crore per year as his salary. With this, he is expected to get Rs 1.25 crore more than his predecessor Anil Kumble.
Shastri's assistant, Sanjay Bangar will get Rs 2.2 crore per year while India's new bowling coach Bharat Arun will get 2 crore annually.
In spite of getting what all he wanted, Shastri has set his eyes on roping in legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar as the batting consultant for all the overseas tours.
In case you didn't know...
Last week, Ravi Shastri was appointed as the new Indian coach until the 2019 World Cup while Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan set to be the batting and bowling consultants for the overseas tours.
The BCCI took a complete u-turn and admitted that a decision on Dravid and Zaheer is yet to be taken and appointed Bharat Arun, Shastri's recommendation, as the new bowling coach.
Extra cover: BCCI announce Ravi Shastri's support staff for Team India
Details
It was earlier announced that Shastri's annual package will be determined by a committee that comprises of BCCI president C K Khanna, secretary Amitabh Choudhary, Committee of Administrators (CoA) member Diana Edulji and BCCI CEO Rahul Johri.
Shastri met the committee yesterday and put forward his expectations and it has been revealed that Shastri demanded Rs 7.75 crore before settling for Rs. 7.5 crore.
According to a member of the committee, Shastri’s increased remuneration was finalised keeping in mind that as head coach, he will have to give up his role as commentator and end his media commitments.
Also read: Circumventing and circumscribing: BCCI's coach selection saga
Along with Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, Sachin was a part of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) that picked Shastri as the new coach and incidentally, he was the one who convinced his fellow Mumbaikar to apply for the post.
It is learnt that BCCI is yet to approach Sachin for the role of batting consultant for overseas tours.
What's next?
Shastri's first assignment with the Indian team will be the tour to Sri Lanka in which Virat Kohli and co. will play three Tests starting on July 26 followed by five ODIs and one T20I.
But, Shastri's first big assignment will be India's tour to South Africa later this year and he will hope that the Indian team start doing well overseas.
Author's Take
Appointing Sachin as the batting consultant could be a big gamble as the Master Blaster hardly has any experience doing this and at the same time, it will be disrespectful to someone like Dravid for dumping him yet again in spite of being more experienced and apt for this role than his former India teammate.
Now that Shastri has got what all he wanted, the onus will be on him to make sure that the Indian team does well under his tenure and regain the coveted 2019 World Cup.
Extra cover: Virat Kohli has got Ravi Shastri and now India cannot falter