IPL contract, 60% of captain's fees: Anil Kumble's steep demands led to his downfall?

While a frosty "untenable" relationship between India captain Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble is being seen as the reason for the latter stepping down from his role as head coach of the Men in Blue, it was also reported that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials were not pleased with the former leg-spinner's demands for substantial hike in players and coaches' remunerations.

Days after Kumble's departure, it has now emerged that the 46-year-old had asked for, in his 19-page proposal, accessed by the PTI, restructuring of contracts and that the "chief coach should earn 60 per cent of captain's estimated earnings". He also mentioned that national team's support staff should be allowed to be part of the IPL, which according to him would have "augmented their earnings".

The proposed structure would have seen an increase in the coach's fee whenever Kohli earned more from the BCCI. Kumble had presented the document, titled "Restructuring of Remuneration And Contracts of Personnel Of The Indian Cricket Team", on behest of the Committee of Administrators (COA) during the Indian Premier League 2017 final on May 21.

The 12th page of the presentation had a column that discussed about pay hike for support staff. In the remarks column of the page, Kumble wrote: "At 60 per cent of captains' estimated earnings. Eligible for 30 per cent of his salary as variable bonus on team performance".

Notably, it was reported that the then coach had even lobbied for extra money for Kohli for discharging his duties as captain, which was not what the latter had in mind.

Also, Kumble asked that his salary be hiked from Rs 6 crore to Rs 7 crore and the salaries of support staff also be increased – batting coach Sanjay Bangar and fielding coach R Sridhar, who were drawing Rs 1 crore, would get Rs 2.25 crore and Rs 1.75 crore respectively according to the proposed hike.

The former coach also wanted 20 per cent of the annual retainership fees of the players to be linked as "variable pay", according to which that particular percentage will be paid to a player, given he successfully manages his fitness levels during the year.

IPL contracts for support staff

Meanwhile, the part of his presentation which caught the attention of BCCI top brass was his request to let national coaches be part of IPL without mentioning the "Conflict of Interest" clause.

Notably, when former COA member Ramachandra Guha, in a letter he wrote after stepping down from his post, accused a "former player-turned-coach" of exploiting the conflict of interest issue when drafting his own contract, with U-19 coach Rahul Dravid, who also mentors the Delhi Daredevils, coming under scrutiny.

Kumble noted that it was important for the coaches, like players, to be kept out of national team contracts during the two-month IPL window as it would help them earn more and gain more experience in the T20 format.