Rahul Dravid Expresses Concerns Over Being Rewarded the Most?

Dravid has expressed concerns over him being given more cash reward than the rest of the U-19 team support staff.

File photo of Rahul Dravid.

(Photo: IANS)

India’s Under-19 team clinched their fourth World Cup title after defeating Australia by 8 wickets in the final in Mount Maunganui on Saturday. They were received with a grand welcome at the Mumbai airport on Monday, 5 February.

However, according to The Indian Express, coach Rahul Dravid has expressed concerns over him being given more cash reward than the rest of the support staff.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a cash reward of Rs 50 lakh for the U-19 chief coach Dravid, while the World Cup winning squad members are set to receive Rs 30 lakh each. The other members of the support staff – bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, fielding coach Abhay Sharma, physiotherapist Yogesh Parmar, trainer Anand Date, Masseur Mangesh Gaikwad and video analyst Devraj Rautare are set to receive Rs 20 lakh each.

According to The Indian Express’ sources, Rahul Dravid has requested for all the members of the support staff to be rewarded equally. The former India captain believes that all the members of the support staff contributed equally to India’s World Cup win.

Even right after the World Cup final, Dravid had said that the attention shouldn’t be on him, but on the entire support staff.

It’s a bit embarrassing at times because I tend to get a lot of attention and focus, but it is really about the support staff and the quality of people that we’ve had. I don’t want to mention names but everyone in the support staff has put in a great effort. We do the best for the kids.

Rahul Dravid

Dravid is contracted with the BCCI as the India U-19 and India A coach for three years and receives Rs 4 crore, per year.

Rahul Dravid chats with Prithvi Shaw during a practice session.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@cricketworldcup)

However, believe it or not, in the Indian senior team, the head coach Ravi Shastri earns more than captain Virat Kohli, as far as the contract and match fee are concerned. Shastri earns $1.17 million, per year, as per his contract and Kohli earns $1 million (contract and match fee combined), according to a report by ESPNCricinfo. India’s head coach is not paid match fees.

After the cash rewards for the U-19 team were announced, a BCCI official had said, “India is known for its guru shishya parampara and the guru always gets more. Obviously, the stature of the coach matters a lot.”

Maybe, the BCCI wants to reward its coaches more than its players at all levels.