Rahul Dravid. (Source – Getty Images)
Rahul Dravid was part of the Indian team that lost to Australia in the 2003 ODI World Cup final. Under his leadership, the Men in Blue had a horrendous time in the 2007 ODI World Cup and in 2011, when India finally won the coveted trophy, Dravid was not a part of the squad. The 51-year-old made his return to the national team as its head coach but yet, couldn’t find success.
India lost the semi-final against England in the 2022 T20 World Cup and then lost to Australia in the finals of the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup in 2023. He had seen a lot of heartbreaks but with India’s triumph in the 2024 T20 World Cup, Dravid finally got hold of his first major trophy. Former cricketer Aakash Chopra was elated with Dravid’s success and pointed out that under his leadership, India played three finals.
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He added that India managed to stay number 1 in all the formats of the game and finally finished it off with a trophy. Chopra was happy with his success as India head coach and added that he provided stability and clarity of thought.
“He started with under-19, remained with the India A team, and then came with this team. This team has reached the final of the last three ICC events and you won the Asia Cup. You reached the WTC final, the team remained consistently as No. 1, reached the ODI World Cup final, and won the T20 World Cup final,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“Good things happen to good people. Your heart is satiated if such things happen. The team Rahul Dravid created has disintegrated slightly in this format because three retirements have come one after the other but he provided stability and clarity of thought,” he added.
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Dravid’s tenure with the Indian team ended after the T20 World Cup. VVS Laxman will coach the team in India’s upcoming series against Zimbabwe while BCCI are set to confirm the next head coach before the Sri Lanka series, which starts on July 27.