As bizarre as it could be, but it’s true that even after India’s dismal show in both the ODIs and Test series against England, India’s head coach Ravi Shastri has got a three-month advance salary. According to information from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the board has done a calculation on how the coaches, support staff and cricketers have been paid over time.
According to a report, Shastri has been paid 2.05 crore for the period of 18 July to 17 October 2018. The former India all-rounder was appointed the head coach of the Indian team in July 2017 when he replaced another former captain Anil Kumble after a spat with captain Virat Kohli. The point to be noted is no coach in the past had the privilege of getting his salary as advance.
As per the contract, the head coach of the Indian cricket team is entitled to Rs eight crore per year in contrast to former coach Kumble’s purse of Rs 6.5 crore. In fact, it was Kumble who appealed to the board during his tenure to raise the coach’s payment to the tune of 8 crores and that’s exactly the amount that was offered to the current coach when he was reinstated slightly more than a year ago.
Also Read: Happy that Jadeja played just one game: Paul Farbrace
However, players’ pending payments were also released by the BCCI. Captain Kohli was richer by Rs 1.25 crore which includes his match fees for the last South Africa tour along with International Cricket Council (ICC) rewards. Opener Shikhar Dhawan received Rs 2.80 crore. This was his payments for his retainership from October 2017 to March 2018 along with the match fees for the last Sri Lanka sojourn.
Rohit Sharma, who will lead Team India in the upcoming Asia Cup, was given Rs 1.42 crore which included his payments for the last Proteas tour along with the match fees for Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka and ICC rewards. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (Rs 2.75 crore), medium pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Rs 3.73 crore) and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha (44 lakh) also got their payments cleared for the matches played till March 2018.
Image Source: India Today