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regular-article-logo Wednesday, 08 May 2024

Green light for Rahul Dravid to stay at National Cricket Academy

The BCCI had issued an advertisement for the NCA chief’s post on its website earlier this month after the completion of Dravid’s two-year stint

Indranil Majumdar Calcutta Published 19.08.21, 02:45 AM
Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid File picture

Rahul Dravid is set to continue as ‘Head of Cricket’ at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore after the former India captain re-applied for the position this week.

Sources told The Telegraph that Dravid put in his application before the expiry of the August 15 deadline and it’s only a matter of time before the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) retains him as ‘Head of Cricket’.

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Dravid, however, refused to comment on the development.

The BCCI had issued an advertisement for the NCA chief’s post on its website earlier this month after the completion of Dravid’s two-year stint that began in July 2019.

According to the BCCI’s policy, as laid out by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators, the appointment of a professional has to follow a transparent process even if it means retaining the services of an individual once his term gets over.

There has been lot of speculation over Dravid’s role, especially in the context of Team India head coach Ravi Shastri’s tenure coming to an end after the T20 World Cup in the UAE. Dravid was the India coach in Sri Lanka for a limited overs series last month when the Test squad was touring England.

An influential section within the BCCI wants Dravid to take over as head coach though he is unlikely to give consent because of family commitments. After the limited overs series in Sri Lanka, Dravid had gone on record saying, “there are a lot of challenges in doing full-time roles, so I really don’t know”.

Sources indicated that Dravid has already made it clear that he wants to work towards creating a solid feeder line for Indian cricket.

India’s feeder system has come in for praise after a severely depleted Test side beat Australia Down Under earlier this year.

The job involves the development of emerging and youth cricketers not only at the NCA but also with India A and age-group teams to ensure a seamless supply of talent to the senior side, a task he has excelled at over the years.

Dravid has also been working closely with the BCCI brass towards building a new Centre of Excellence to replace the NCA at a new facility near Bangalore airport.

“Dravid should be allowed to work at the grassroots level and at the NCA. Just look at the constant supply chain of cricketers since he took over. Let someone else be in charge of Team India and Dravid be allowed to keep working at creating a strong feeder line,” a source said.

“It is only because of Dravid that the NCA has been transformed from a rehab centre for injured players to one which nurtures talented youngsters into finished products.”

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