Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid. (Source – Twitter/X)
After coaching India’s Under 19 team and winning the 2018 World Cup, Rahul Dravid was appointed as the Head Coach of the senior men’s team in 2021. Under him, India lost the T20 World Cup 2022 semifinal against England, the World Test Championship 2023 Final and the World Cup 2023 Final. Ahead of his final days as coach when India entered T20 World Cup 2024, a lot was riding on Dravid’s back.
The veteran had no ICC Trophy to his name as a player and desperately needed one as a coach of India. As India ended the 11-year-old draught of the ICC trophy by winning the T20 World Cup 2024, he breathed a sigh of relief. Shedding light on his coaching manual, the former India skipper stressed that the motive is to cater to the captain’s vision and philosophy.
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“As a coach at the end of the day my job is to help the captain deliver his vision, his philosophy of how he wants the team to play. I don’t really like talking more about results. Yes results are important. I am in a business that runs on results,” Said Dravid as quoted by News18.
“I like to believe that coaching is not just about coaching cricket. This is about building connections with the people and creating right environment that allows for success. I feel that I am a part of the team whose responsibility is to create the right professional, safe, secure environment that really doesn’t have fear of failure as such but its challenging enough to push people. That is always been my endeavour to try and create that atmosphere,” he added.
Gautam Gambhir frontrunner to take Dravid’s place
The former wicket-keeper batter’s coaching stint ended on June 29 and the Board of Control for Cricket in India are in the hunt for a new Head Coach. Amidst all the developments, rumour mills are abuzz with Gautam Gambhir turning out to be a frontrunner. Gambhir’s role as mentor in Kolkata Knight Riders’ success in IPL 2024 has added vigour to the ongoing speculations.