COA puts India coach Ravi Shastri, Zaheer Khan and Rahul Dravid's contract drafts on hold, say reports

Just two days after the appointment of Ravi Shastri as Indian cricket team’s new chief coach, Rahul Dravid as overseas batting consultant and Zaheer Khan as bowling consultant, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) has reportedly put the contract drafts on hold and asked for it when they meet on Saturday. [caption id=“attachment_3804839” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid. AFP[/caption] “The BCCI’s legal team was working on the contracts. But the CoA asked us to first show them the drafts. Given the situation, it does look like Shastri’s wish to have Bharat Arun as a full-time bowling coach will be accepted. And the way the contract is likely to shape, it will be difficult for Zaheer to accept the role of a consultant on a tour-to-tour basis. It will be an internal meeting and they said they will discuss the quantum of payment,” a top BCCI official told the Times of India on Thursday. To discuss the role of the team’s bowling coach, Shastri will likely meet the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) members on Monday. The report suggests that the 55-year-old’s major concern is the availability of Zaheer through the course of the year. “Is Zaheer willing to give 250 days a year to the team? He can come in and help Arun whenever required. Arun will be around with the team all the time and Shastri trusts his work,” a source close to the development added. According to the sources, Shastri is adamant on having Arun back on board despite the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman having named Zaheer as the bowling consultant. Notably, Arun was the bowling coach during Shastri’s tenure as the team director from 2013 to 2015. If Zaheer does agree to a full-time job with the team, the board will have to compensate him monetarily to quit Indian Premier League side Delhi Daredevils, just like they did with Rahul Dravid earlier this year. Speaking to CricketNext, a senior BCCI official said that Shastri wanted a full-time bowling coach along with the already present batting coach Sanjay Bangar. “The legal team was preparing the draft for the contracts, but the COA asked for the papers and the final call will be taken by the COA. They are also set to meet Shastri and it looks like a final call will be taken after taking him into the loop. Shastri has, in fact, made it clear that while Dravid and Zaheer’s presence from time to time would be invaluable, he needs a full-time bowling coach,” the official said. The official further casts doubt over the former India pacer joining the support staff as he had asked for a huge figure of Rs 4 crore when BCCI had approached him in 2016. So, it is highly unlikely that the COA would agree to pay Zaheer such an amount while Bangar receives a much lesser amount despite being a full-time coach. “This is not the first time that Zak (Zaheer) has been approached. He was approached last year as well, but he clearly refused because he wasn’t given the amount he demanded. Also, he wasn’t too keen on coming on board on a full-time basis. Now to think that the COA will also agree to compensate over the Rs 4 crore even though he will only be a consultant is expecting a bit too much it seems,” he said.