Is it the end of Rahul Dravid as the coach of Team India?
After Dravid’s three-year tenure comes to an end in June, the CAC of the BCCI will launch a headhunt for Team India’s head coach
Rahul Dravid, the ace cricketer popularly known as ‘The Wall’, will no longer be given extension as Team India’s head coach after his tenure comes to an end in June this year.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will soon advertise for a new head coach. According to media reports, Dravid can also apply for the vacancy.
"Rahul's tenure is only up to June. So if he wants to apply, he is free to do so," Cricbuzz quoted BCCI decretary Jay Shah, who is the son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, as saying.
The process for the hiring of other coaching staff, including batting, bowling and fielding, will commence with the arrival of the new head coach.
No different coaches
Shah did not rule out the sourcing of an offshore head coach. "We cannot determine whether the new coach will be Indian or foreign. It will be up to the CAC, and we are a global body," Shah said, while suggesting the BCCI is unlikely to hire different coaches for different formats of the game, such as One Day, T20 and Test matches.
However, the decision of hiring a coach rests with the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) of the BCCI, Shah said.
"That decision will also be made by the CAC. There are many all-format players, like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Rishabh Pant, among others. Moreover, there is no precedent for such a situation in India," Shah was quoted as saying.
Cricket boards of countries like England and Pakistan hire different coaches for different formats.
Impact Player rule only a test case
The BCCI secretary also said that the Impact Player rule, much criticised by international players for becoming a hurdle for allrounders to emerge, will be discussed with stakeholders.
"Impact Player was a test case. Two new Indian players are getting a chance in the IPL," Shah said. "We will discuss with the stakeholders - franchises and broadcasters - before deciding on the continuation of the Impact Player. It's not permanent, but no one has provided feedback against the rule," he added.
Dravid joined as Team India’s head coach in November 2021 and was given extension after the 2023 ODI World Cup championship last year.
