Sulakshan Kulkarni turns down Mumbai job

MUMBAI: Even as there is little time left for the new domestic season to begin, Mumbai cricket has plunged into a crisis. On Tuesday evening, Sulakshan Kulkarni, who was chosen as the new coach of the Mumbai senior team by the Dilip Vengsarkar-led Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), refused to take up the job after disagreeing with the ad-hoc committee on a number of contractual issues.
“I had a meeting with the members of the ad-hoc committee today regarding several contentious issues in my contract. As per the contract, I was supposed to be given only Rs 14 lakhs,whereas the senior team coach was promised Rs 24 lakhs by the MCA. This is because they told me that the contract would begin from only August 16, whereas I told the CIC that I was ready to join by June 1. I kept waiting for my formal appointment and contract from the MCA, and in the meantime,decided to coach the diasbled team to a tournament in England,” Kulkarni told TOI, before elaborating on other points.
“As per the contract, all the MCA teams’ coaches are supposed to do a minimum of eight-hour duty at the BKC facility. This is unacceptable to not just me, but all the other coaches. They have reduced the per day match allowance from Rs 10,000 per day, which I received as a Mumbai coach in 2011, to Rs 5,000 now. The number of days on which coach can be on paid leave has been reduced from 60 to 15. All these points were unacceptable to me,” said the former Mumbai wicketkeeper, who coached Mumbai to the Ranji Trophy title in the 2012-13 season. The 52-year-old has also coached Vidarbha and Chattisgarh in the past.
“The decision to appoint me as the Mumbai coach was taken by a committee (CIC) which had two former India players, Vengsarkar and Karsan Ghavri, who have played 155 Tests between themselves. It was a big honour and a compliment for me. Sadly, this adhoc committee, which doesn’t even have a single ‘A’ Division cricketer in its ranks, overturned what is essentially a cricketing decision, without respecting the stature of these former cricketers,” Kulkarni said.
The MCA will now have to find a coach for the senior team-the season’s first tournament-the Vijay Hazare Trophy,will begin from September 24. There isn’t much time left. TOI tried speaking to a couple of MCA officials,but they didn’t respond to calls. MCA sources said that Kulkarni has asked for a couple days’ before reverting. Kulkarni, however, denied it.