Rahul Dravid to remain India's head coach till T20 World Cup: Jay Shah
Rajkot (PTI): Rahul Dravid will continue to remain in the position of India's head coach till the upcoming T20 World Cup in June this year, confirmed BCCI secretary Jay Shah.
Dravid's contract ended after the ODI World Cup final last year, but he was asked to continue in his role along with other support staff for the December-January tour to South Africa without finalising the tenure.
But Shah said he held an initial talk with Dravid here before arriving at the decision to retain the former captain's services till the ICC showpiece to be held in the West Indies and the USA.
"After the (2023) World Cup, Rahul bhai had to leave for the South Africa tour immediately. We did not get to meet in between which finally happened today," Shah said here on the sidelines of the renaming function of the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Wednesday night.
"Why are you worried about a contract for such a senior person like Rahul Dravid? Rahul bhai will remain the coach in the T20 World Cup," Shah asserted.
However, Shah indicated that they will hold a few more rounds of discussions ahead of the marquee event.
"I will speak with him whenever there is time, there are back-to-back series happening right now. They were in South Africa, then there was a (T20I) series against Afghanistan (at home) and now England. We did not get to speak in between at all," he added.
Shah said the IPL franchises will have to comply with workload management guidelines set by the BCCI for the centrally contracted players.
"This is the BCCI's mandate. The BCCI is the supreme body and whatever it decides the franchises will have to follow we are above the franchises," he said.
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Gujarat government to ban mobile phone in schools to counter negative effects of social media
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government will come up with new regulations aimed at reducing the influence of smartphones and social media on children.
A meeting on the issue was chaired by state Education Minister Praful Panseriya with senior officials on Thursday, during which he highlighted the adverse effects of excessive social media use on children. He emphasised that new rules would be implemented to reduce mobile phone usage and encourage greater focus on sports.
“Teachers will be banned from using mobile phones in the classroom, and strict measures will be taken to ensure that primary school children do not come to school with mobile phones,” the statement read under the new rules.
Panseriya said that their aim is to keep the kids away from the devices and bring them to playgrounds and study tables.
The minister further stated that a circular outlining these changes would be issued for children, parents, and teachers. The initiative will be developed in consultation with Children’s University, Teacher's University, and practicing psychiatrists.
Additionally, teachers will be encouraged to engage students in productive activities such as reading and sports instead of allowing smartphone use for social media. Parents will also be urged to limit their own social media use in front of children and and ensure the latter are not using smartphones.
The minister expressed hope that other states will follow Gujarat's lead and adopt similar measures.
