Ganguly: Rahul Dravid dropped India batting consultant job after meeting Ravi Shastri

Mumbai: Team India has come under heavy criticism after losing the fourth Test against England at Southampton that saw Joe Root’s men win the five-match contest and take an unassailable 3-1 lead. While Virat Kohli has been leading the score charts, other members of the team have failed to match the standards of their captain.

After previously criticising head coach Ravi Shastri and Sanjay Bangar over their inability to solve the team’s batting woes on away soil, Sourav Ganguly recalled the time he wanted to appoint Rahul Dravid as a batting consultant for overseas tours but talks soon fell through.

After the Cricket Advisory Committee - comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman announced Shastri as Anil Kumble’s successor, it was also declared that Dravid and Zaheer Khan would be batting and bowling consultants respectively for overseas tours. But due to an intervention from the Committee of Administrators (CoA), only Shastri’s appointment was confirmed.

“Rahul Dravid had been asked to become a batting consultant and he had even agreed. But then he spoke to Ravi and I don’t know what happened after that. The Committee of Administrators also had added to the confusion with the coach selection and we were tired and just got out of it. So it’s difficult for me to say why Rahul Dravid did not become the batting consultant. But if Ravi Shastri was given the responsibility, after consulting Virat Kohli, then he has to fulfil that responsibility and improve the team,” Ganguly was quoted as saying to India TV.

CoA chief Vinod Rai later mentioned that they assigned the CAC to only appoint the coach and that the board wasn’t aware of any additional appointments. As a result, Bangar and Bharat Arun took over as batting and bowling coach.   

“Anil Kumble had a one-year contract. It had no renewal or extension clause. When the CoA took over, we got to know a month later that his contract was expiring and we followed the protocol that was followed during his appointment. The idea was to select the head coach by the CAC — comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. Transparency requires you to follow a process and the due process throws up a result.

“The CAC was the entrusted body and they did what they felt was best. It wasn’t an unceremonious exit as his contract was only for a year. We made no statements on Zaheer Khan or Rahul Dravid’s appointments. Our job was to select the head coach through the due process,” he explained.