Dravid's contract as brand ambassador of BOB to stay

Nagpur, Apr 25 (UNI) The contract of India cricket captain Rahul Dravid as 'brand ambassador' of Bank of Baroda (BoB) would stay in spite of his disappointing performance in recent times, Chairman and Managing Director Anil K Khandelwal said here today.

Speaking to newsmen, Mr Khandelwal said Dravid might not have performed well in some matches in the recent past, but this did not mean that the bank would terminate his contract. His record had been very good, and he had always played a pivotal role in the victories of the Indian cricket team, Mr Khandelwal said.

''An occasional failure does not mean that you should drive the person out. If a manager of mine is unable to meet the target for a particular year, does it mean that I should sack him? If your child fails in one examination, you don't drive him out of the house, do you? It is just not done,'' he said.

The bank had entered into a contract with Dravid only after taking into consideration the possibility that he may not necessarily perform very well every time the team played a match, Mr Khandelwal said. ''After all, it's only a game,'' he commented.

Mr Khandelwal said the decision about the number of times that advertisements featuring Dravid were released was based on financial considerations and had nothing to do with Dravid's performance on the field.

Dravid's contract with BoB as their brand ambassador expires in August 2008, he added.

UNI