After all the twist and turns and the unwarranted controversy surrounding the appointment of the India support staff, everything was made clear on Tuesday. The BCCI four-member panel met with India coach Ravi Shastri and decided to appoint Bharat Arun as the bowling coach while Sanjay Bangar will work in both the capacity of batting and assistant coach.
Though the announcement of the support staff was the talk of the nation for the last few days, it was not the only thing which the people in the meeting had to discuss. They also discussed about the annual package of the people involved with the Indian team including Shastri, Arun and Bangar for their specific role.
Earlier, there were reports suggesting about Shastri getting an annual package of around Rs 7-7.5 crores, which would make him the highest paid Indian coach too. During the meet, Shastri is said to have demanded a sum of Rs 7.75 crore, according to the Indian Express reports.
However, reports state that Shastri was not given the exact amount he wanted, but the BCCI and Shastri came to a compromise, and he received a deal of Rs 7 crore annually as remuneration.
The said amount is much more than what the last India coach earned. Anil Kumble was given Rs 6.25 cr. The last foreigner to coach India team, Duncan Fletcher made Rs 4.2 crore, which reflects that BCCI have gone all out to give Shastri a hefty package.
But then one also has to understand, a good deal was on the cards for the former India Team Director as he was making some good money with his media commitments. With no commentary and media commitments, this mammoth deal makes sense.
It is not just about Shastri earing big bucks from his post, others including Bangar and Arun have also been given a decent deal. Bangar will get Rs 2.20 crore and Arun's package has been set for Rs 2 crore. The trio has been given a two-year contract by the BCCI.
Shastri and his support staff's first assignment will be India's tour of Sri Lanka, where Virat Kohli and his men will start with the first Test on July 26.
