Ramachandra Guha launches veiled attack on Rahul Dravid over IPL contract

Bengaluru, June 2: Former member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) Committee of Administrators (COA) Ramachandra Guha has launched an indirect attack at batting legend Rahul Dravid for coaching Delhi Daredevils (DD) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Guha attacks Gavaskar, Dhoni

Guha, who resigned yesterday (June 1) from COA, has heavily criticised the workings of BCCI and the "superstar" culture prevailing in Team India. He attacked Sunil Gavaskar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and felt former India paceman Javagal Srinath should be in COA.

Historian Guha did not like the idea of BCCI allowing national coaches to have contracts with IPL sides. Dravid was mentor of DD in IPL. The former captain is coach of India 'A' and Under-19 sides. However, as per his contract he can be with an IPL franchise.

Guha, without mentioning Dravid's name, said some former players were getting "preferential treatment" by BCCI.

"The question of conflict of interest, which had lain unaddressed ever since the Committee began its work, and which I have been repeatedly flagging since I joined. For instance, the BCCI has accorded preferential treatment to some national coaches, by giving them ten month contracts for national duty, thus allowing them to work as IPL coaches/mentors for the remaining two months. This was done in an adhoc and arbitrary manner; the more famous the former player-turned-coach, the more likely was the BCCI to allow him to draft his own contract that left loopholes that he exploited to dodge the conflict of interest issue," Guha wrote in a letter to COA head Vinod Rai.

"I have repeatedly pointed out that it is contrary to the spirit of the Lodha Committee for coaches or the support staff of the Indian senior or junior team, or for staff at the National Cricket Academy, to have contracts in the Indian Premier League. One cannot have dual loyalties of this kind and do proper justice to both. National duty must take precedence over club affiliation," he added.

OneIndia News