Mumbai, July 19: Newly-appointed India head coach Ravi Shastri expressed the desire to have Tendulkar on board as a consultant, provided it is not a case of conflict of interest, during Tuesday’s meeting with the BCCI special committee.
Tendulkar is part of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) which picked Shastri as the coach. The special committee however made it clear that any role with the national team, be it full-time or as a consultant, has to be clear of conflict of interest.
“Ravi put forward the idea of having Sachin on board as a consultant for a very short period. But the committee promptly reminded him about the conflict of interest clause,” a member of the committee, who did not wish to be identified as the information is not meant to be public, told the agency.
If Tendulkar does accept the role, it would mean that he would have to let go of his various other commitments including the IPL. “And expecting someone to be around for an extremely short period and leave his other professional commitments is asking for a bit too much,” said the member.
While addressing his first press conference since getting the position, the former Team Director spoke about the challenges ahead, the first of which is a tour of Sri Lanka.
Shastri, reflected on India’s last tour of Sri Lanka, where the team bounced back to win the Test series 2-1. “I have matured since we last went to Sri Lanka. I feel have matured a lot in the last two weeks,” said Shastri at the pre-departure press conference for the series.
The former India all-rounder insisted that he has moved on from the past. “I don’t come with any baggage. The team has done exceedingly well in the last three years, they are the people who deserve credit. The Ravi Shastris and Anil Kumbles will come and go. If India are the number one Test team today, it is because of the effort of the players. People will come and go. The fabric of Indian cricket will remain,” he stated.