Ravi
Shastri will step down as India’s head coach following the T20 World Cup, and the
former Indian captain is already being lined up for his next assignment. According
to a report in Cricbuzz, the new Ahmedabad-based Indian Premier League (IPL)
franchise is eyeing up the 59-year-old for a coaching role.
The report
also claimed that other members of the support staff, including bowling coach
Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar. Shastri was approached by the franchise
in the UAE, where he is currently overseeing India’s T20 World Cup campaign.
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According to the report, Shastri will take
a decision on this matter after the conclusion of the showpiece event, as he does
not want any distractions from the ongoing tournament.
Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners won
the bid to acquire the Ahmedabad franchise for a whopping Rs 5,625 crore for
the upcoming edition of the IPL. The BCCI held the auction for the two new franchises
in Dubai, expanding the league to ten teams from next year.
Kolkata-based tycoon Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG Group
won the bid for the Lucknow franchise for Rs 7,090 crore. Manchester United’s
owners, Lancer Capital, Adani Group, Hyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma and Kotak
Group were among the other bidders for the two franchises.
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Meanwhile, Shastri is also open to a return
to the commentator’s box, but association with an IPL team will prevent him
from signing a direct commentator contract with the BCCI, due to the Conflict of
Interest rules. He can still sign a deal with the broadcasters directly, like VVS
Laxman, who also managed to do commentary along with being the mentor of the Sunrisers
Hyderabad.
CVC Capital were under scrutiny from the
BCCI earlier due to investments in a betting firm in the UK. However, they were
cleared by the board and along with the RPSG Group, have sealed the franchise agreement
recently.
