(S.R.Seshu)
The richest Indian, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of the Reliance Industries, kept his annual salary capped at Rs 15 crore. The new coach of the Indian cricket team, Anil Kumble, is going to pocket almost half of it for spearheading the team from the behind-the-scenes and this payment will make the Jumbo the highest paid cricket coach in the world!
Though the details of the contract signed by the legendary spinner with the Cricket Control Board is not yet known, a rough calculation suggests that the former Test captain is going to get somewhere between Rs.7 cr to Rs.7.5 cr.
Citing the BCCI sources, one of the leading newspapers published a story in June 2015 that the Board was all set to clinch a Rs.7 crore-a-year-deal with the then Team Director Ravi Shastri, who was rumoured to be the next coach.
The previous coach Duncan Fletcher, who joined Team India in 2011 and served till 2015, was paid Rs.4.2 crore per annum. As his not-so-impressive stint with the World Cup ended in March, the 53-year-old Ravi Shastri was given similar responsibilities but in the capacity of Team Director. He reportedly drew Rs. 6 crore annually. Ravi Shastri had a Rs 4 crore-a-year contract with the BCCI as a TV commentator, the report mentioned. His term as the Team Director came to an end when India was ousted in the semifinal of the ICC World T20.
Since the late entrant Anil Kumble was picked up as the coach, Ravi Shastri naturally got upset. He aimed his salvo at one of the high-profile Cricket Advisory Committee (CAS) members Sourav Ganguly for absenting himself when his turn for interviewing came last week. It may be recalled that the committee interviewed Ravi Shastri on a skype call as he was away from the country. The top class spinner must be regretting now for having a foreign tour when an important interview was in scheduled.
“Not miffed at all. I am just disappointed. Nothing surprises me in cricket. It’s nothing to do with Sourav, but I am disappointed because that person was disrespectful of the candidate who was going to be interviewed and disrespectful of the job he was entrusted to do,” Ravi Shastri was quoted as saying by India Today.
Giving reasons for getting disappointed, he said that he wanted to carry forward all the good work he had done in the last 18 months as the Team Director.
