Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid. (Source – Twitter/X)
Suryakumar Yadav revealed what an emotional Rahul Dravid told Rohit Sharma after the duo spearheaded India to their second T20 World Cup title and first in 17 years.
The Men in Blue went into the 2024 T20 World Cup as the favourites. Under Rohit’s inspirational captaincy and Dravid’s tactful coaching, India ended their 11-year-long wait for an ICC title. Suryakumar, who played some crucial knocks during the campaign, revealed that Dravid thanked Rohit for his phone call in November 2023, convincing him to continue as India’s head coach after he had decided to relinquish the job following the team’s gut-wrenching defeat in the ODI World Cup final.
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For the unversed, the former India captain wanted to step down from his role as the head coach of the national team after the Men in Blue lost the ODI World Cup final to Australia last year in Ahmedabad. However, Rohit and BCCI secretary Jay Shah persuaded Dravid to extend his contract till the T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies.
“In the end, Dravid came & thanked Rohit & said ‘Thank you, Rohit, for that phone call in November’ because he didn’t want to continue after the 50 over World Cup loss but Rohit and Jay sir convinced him to stay,” Suryakumar told Express Sports.
Looking back at India’s performances in ICC events under Rahul Dravid’s coaching
Rahul Dravid took up the high-pressure role of India’s head coach after Ravi Shastri stepped down following the team’s abrupt exit from the T20 World Cup in 2021. Under Dravid’s coaching term, India became a consistent force in ICC events, never failing to reach the knockouts.
Also Read: Lalchand Rajput heaps praises on Rahul Dravid after T20 World Cup victory
In the T20 World Cup 2022, the Asian giants reached the semi-finals, where they lost to eventual champions England. In 2023, India lost the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup finals to Australia. They finally went the distance at the recently concluded T20 World Cup after beating South Africa by seven runs in a high-octane final in Barbados.