BCCI searches for new India coach Board saw red over Kumble’s salary hike push
SURPRISING MOVE Current coach Anil Kumble, whose term expires in June, remains a contender
Despite Anil Kumble having overseen a highly successful international season in his first year as head coach of the India team, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has invited applications from candidates for the post.
Although the Indian cricket board says Kumble will be a direct entry, the decision to advertise for the job comes as a surprise, ahead of an event like the Champions Trophy.
It was widely believed the former India skipper, who succeeded Ravi Shastri in June 2016, would get an extension, with his tenure ending with the Champions Trophy.
HT had on Wednesday reported that Board officials were unhappy with Kumble and skipper Virat Kohli for demanding a huge hike in retainership for only the top Grade A players, besides the coach’s fee.
Any increase in retainership would have come at the expense of fund allocation to state units or fees given to domestic players, a Board official had told HT. The Committee of Administrators and BCCI had made it clear they will not increase the share from its revenue that goes as salary to the players. Currently, out of BCCI’s total revenue, 70% goes to state units. From the remaining sum, 26% is distributed to players with half the amount going to centrally contracted players.
If an increment is given to Grade A players, the share of others will be reduced, unless the current allocation of 26% is increased. If that happens, it will eat into BCCI’s funds allocated for other things like National Cricket Academy. Huge resources are needed for building a new NCA facility in Bangalore.
“The CoA made it clear to them (Kumble and Kohli) they won’t increase the share from 26%,” an official had told HT. “Honestly, Kumble & Co are being inconsiderate. The first-class players too want an increase and state bodies too don’t want to take a hit.”
The Board officials feel Kumble has gone beyond his brief and is driving the players to demand a hike, which it isn’t happy about. An official told HT Kumble has held positions in the past that amounted to conflict of interest.
Kumble’s annual contract is ~6.5 crore and has demanded a ~1 crore raise. Grade A players, who get ~2 crore as retainership, want it to be raised to ~5 crore.
Kumble had also irked the BCCI when he pushed for taking part in the Champions Trophy while some senior officials were still planning a boycott after the ICC slashed India’s share of revenue from global cricket.