The India A and Under 19 teams will be Rahul Dravid's first priority despite senior team job

Former Indian international and batting legend Rahul Dravid was roped in as the batting consultant for the Indian team by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) on Tuesday. Apart from Dravid, Zaheer Khan was handed over the responsibilities of the Indian bowling coach and both these legends will work along with the new Indian head coach Ravi Shastri.

According to a BCCI official, Rahul Dravid has his priorities sorted. He is not willing to take up the role of a full-time batting consultant for the senior team because his main target is to groom the young stars. Dravid is also the coach of the India A and Under 19 teams and the cricketer’s goal is to develop and push some promising talents into the senior team.

“See, the consultant’s position was given because for Dravid the junior teams are his priority. He is still very much keen to work closely with the juniors and provide the senior team with quality talent who can break into the team and fit the demands of the coach and captain whenever needed. So, the assignment with the senior team will be on a time to time basis and not permanent,” the BCCI official said.

On Dravid’s presence in the Sri Lanka tour:

When asked about whether Dravid will accompany the Indian team to Sr Lanka, the official said that Dravid will be travelling to South Africa with the India A team.

“He will not be in Sri Lanka and will be with the ‘A’ team in South Africa. Also, don’t expect him to be with the Indian team for the whole length of their foreign tours. For example, if India is touring South Africa for say a month and a half, he might be there for just a span of two-three weeks. He will join them on and off as per requirement of the troops.” said the official.

“Zaheer’s matter has not been discussed yet, but it could well be that even Zaheer stays with the team on and off. This needs to be worked out,” added the official on Zaheer Khan’s availability.