BCCI abolishes graded contracts system; Dravid retained captain

Mumbai, Apr 7 (UNI) The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today announced radical changes in the country's cricket structure, which included directions for curtailment of endorsements by players, doing away with of graded system of contracts and scrapping of the zonal representation in the junior and senior selection committees.

Board treasurer N Srinivsan announced after a Working Committee meeting here that the selection committee held a teleconference and decided to retain Rahul Dravid as the captain of the Indian team for the tours of Bangladesh, Ireland and England.

Former captain Ravi Shastri also accepted the Board offer of cricket manager for the Bangladesh tour and he would be assisted by bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh.

All these three appointments were only for the Bangladesh tour, which begins from May 7, Mr Srinivasan said.

This was after a rare directive to the selection panel by the Working Committee which asked them to choose a young team under an experienced captain for the Bangladesh tour where the team will play two Tests and three one-dayers.

No permanent coach was appointed and speculation about a possible future role for outgoing Greg Chappell continued with the BCCI President Sharad Pawar wanting him continue his association with Indian cricket.

Meanwhile, Chappell suffered from a ''strain'' and went for a check-up to a hospital here which gave him a clean bill of health.

In another bold decision to instil discipline in the team, the board also decided to send notices to batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and middle order batsman Yuvraj Singh for their comments in the media against the coach and the board.

The notices would be sent to the two players under Rule 38 of the Memorandum and Rules and Regulations of the Board, seeking an explanation for their comments in the media.

However, the most significant decision taken at the two-day meeting of the BCCI top brass pertained to directions for curtailment of endorsements by players and abolition of graded system of contracts.

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