Rahul Dravid did it again. Keeping up with his principles of taking an equal share of prize bonus as the rest of his support staff, the outgoing head coach refused to take the additional ₹2.5 crore that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was awarding him — at par with members of the playing squad of India’s T20 World Cup winning team.
“Rahul wanted the same bonus money ( ₹2.5 crore) as the rest of his support staff (bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, fielding coach T Dilip and batting coach Vikram Rathore). We respect his sentiments,” a BCCI source said.
As per the distribution formula devised by the board, the 15 playing members of India’s winning squad and Dravid were to get ₹5 crore each from the ₹125 crore prize money. The support staff are getting ₹2.5 crore each, while the selectors and the travelling members of the squad will be richer by ₹1 crore each.
Dravid had made a similar point as head coach of India’s winning U-19 World Cup team of 2018. When it was decided that Dravid, for his stature, would get ₹50 lakh while the other members of the support staff would get ₹20 lakh each and the players ₹30 lakh each, he had refused the formula. Dravid wanted the BCCI to award everyone equally.
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Accordingly, a revised list of cash awards ( ₹25 lakhs) to every member of the coaching staff, including Dravid was made. For qualities like these and how Dravid established consistency in selection during his tenure, the former coach formed a bond with the players.
Dravid, who for all his accomplishments as a player, never won a World Cup, finally achieved the feat as a head coach of India’s T20 World Cup winning team. From captain Rohit Sharma to senior Virat Kohli brought Dravid to the forefront in the winning celebrations. Rohit was the one to have convinced Dravid to stay on for the T20 World Cup following the end of his coaching stint with India’s loss in the ODI World Cup finals, last year.
“You are an absolute stalwart of this game, but you left all of your accolades and achievements at the door and walked in as our coach and came on a level where we all felt comfortable enough to say just about anything to you,” Rohit wrote about Dravid on Tuesday.
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