Former Indian captain Rahul Dravid has reapplied for the post of Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy. This would put an end to the speculation that he is replacing Ravi Shastri as the Head Coach of the senior national side after the T20 World Cup later this year.
Since the two-year contract of Dravid had ended, the BCCI had to invite applications. There are no extension provisions following the new constitution and the recruitment process must start again.
“Yes, Rahul applied again for the Cricket Head post. You don’t have to be a genius to guess that he will continue after the tremendous work that he has done to shift the face of NCA, which now truly is a focus of excellence,” a senior BCCI source said privy to the development on conditions of anonymity.
“In fact, as of now, save Rahul, there are no other prominent names of stature who have applied for the post,” he continued.
It has been learned that the BCCI has decided to extend the deadline for applications by a few days to guarantee that interested candidates have sufficient time to submit applications.
“The BCCI top brass has decided to extend the deadline from August 15 by a few more days. When Rahul is in the fray, everyone knows that there is little meaning in applying for the post,” the source added.
Dravid expressed his concern about taking on a full-time role with the Indian team after a circuitous tour of Sri Lanka.
His request confirms, at least, that he still wants to help the national cricket team with the creation of a strong supply line.