Rahul Dravid to get 2-year extension as u-19, India A coach?

Mumbai: The Indian national u-19 and the India A sides are all set to retain Rahul Dravid as their head coach, after the BCCI-appointed Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) decided to hand the former national captain a two-year extension.

The CAC, which comprises of Dravid’s former India teammates Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, decided to offer the two-year extension to the 44-year-old, after a successful stint with the junior side, that saw them reach the final of the ICC U-19 World Cup last year.

Interestingly, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) did not invite any applications for the u-19 coach’s job, according to The Indian Express. This is in stark contrast to senior national team head coach Anil Kumble’s predicament.

Kumble, who’s contract ran out on Sunday, after India’s heavy defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy final, has been given an extension till the end of the West Indies tour, which gets underway on Friday.

According to a BCCI official, Dravid has been offered a direct extension, as there was an extension clause in his previous contract.

The only issue now would be the remuneration that the Indian cricket board is willing to offer Dravid, who earned a little more than Rs 4 crores from his previous contract, the duration of which was 10 months.

Dravid had been embroiled in a conflict of interest controversy after former Committee of Administrators (CoA) member Ramchandra Guha’s lengthy letter to the CoA chief Vinod Rai.

However, Dravid, in a statement, had said, “My simple point is that, not only me but there are five or six of us who are in the same position. There needs to be clarity. If there is clarity, we will be in a position to take an informed decision. It is disappointing the way this got played out in the public without much understanding of the background.”