Sulakshan Kulkarni declines ‘below-par contract’ for Mumbai head coach job
Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) choice for the role of head coach, Sulakshan Kulkarni, declined the below-par contract offered by the association on Tuesday citing issues with the remuneration amount. This leaves Mumbai without a chief coach just one month before the start of the domestic season.
The remuneration amount offered to Kulkarni is much less than the original figure put up on the MCA website. Not only this, he stands to earn exactly half (₹5000 per day) the daily allowance he earned in 2011.
“Originally, the MCA had posted on their website that the remuneration of the Mumbai coach will be INR 24 lakh but the contract offered to me on Tuesday was INR 14 lakh. Also, the daily allowance on match days was half of what I used to get in 2011,” Kulkarni was quoted saying by Hindustan Times.
However, this was not the only point of contention Kulkarni raised about the contract when he met the MCA’s ad-hoc committee on Tuesday. Although the interviews for the position were completed in May, the contract period is from June 1, which could be the reason for the reduced remuneration being offered to the coach. It is learnt that Kulkarni was given appointment letter only in July.
“My interview was taken by the MCA’s panel on May 20th. Dilip Vengsarkar, head of the panel, had asked me when can I join and I immediately said that I could start from June 1. The delay took place from the MCA’s side. I was available. Why should I be deprived? In July I went to England with the national handicap team but if the MCA appointment had come, I wouldn’t have taken it up,” Kulkarni added.
Kulkarni had coached Mumbai for three seasons from 2011-12 and also won a Ranji Trophy title during his tenure. Now, with Mumbai’s season set to kick off with the Vijay Hazare Trophy that starts from September 24, he would have to look at other options.
In May, MCA had shortlisted three candidates — Kulkarni, former Bengal coach Sairaj Bahutule and current coach Vinayak Samant. While Bahutule — who was keen to coach Mumbai — has joined Gujarat, MCA is not keen on retaining Samant.