Zaheer Khan likely to miss out on bowling coach role

While Ravi Shastri’s appointment as head coach was met with a few slurs, the Indian cricketing fraternity rejoiced when it saw Zaheer Khanas the bowling coach and Rahul Dravid as the batting consultant.

But Ravi Shastri is not very thrilled about having Zak and Dravid on board, as he wants his own support staff to take up those roles.

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The CoA has responded to Shastri’s plea and has kept the contracts of Zaheer and Dravid on hold for the time being, until a settlement is brought about.

“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,”  a BCCI official told TOI.

“It will be an internal meeting and they said they will discuss the quantum of payment,” he added.

Shastri feels that he would be more comfortable working with Bharat Arun as bowling coach, someone whom he trusts and someone who is bound to be with the team all through. Shastri has raised concerns about Zaheer’s commitment, wherein he is not sure if Zak would be able to commit at least 250 days to the team in a 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,” the source said.

Zaheer was approached by the BCCI for the bowling coach role last year as well, but he refused as BCCI could not meet his salary demands of Rs 4 crore per annum.

“The board has been chasing him for over a year now. He was reluctant to serve full-time then. He hasn’t said ‘no’ yet. So the decision as per the CAC stands. Once Zaheer sees the contract, he can decide for himself whether he wants to stay with the team full-time. As of now, he should be travelling to Sri Lanka with the team next week,” the BCCI official said.

In addition to his salary demands, BCCI will also have to compensate Zak for opting out of his Delhi Daredevils contract.

“The coaching budget of the board will certainly hit the ceiling, and it doesn’t look nice to have major disparity in salaries of the support staff. It will be interesting to see once the contract is rolled out,” the official added.

Zaheer could fit in as a bowling consultant, working on a tour-by-tour basis, just like Rahul Dravid.

“Shastri has asked for just one thing. He doesn’t mind Zaheer as a consultant but Arun has more technical experience in ironing out flaws,”

“No doubt Zaheer has a lot of knowledge but he has no coaching experience. Everyone saw what happened when Anil Kumble was rushed into the job. Zaheer can be groomed to become a proper bowling coach,” the official concluded

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Utkarsh Bhatla