HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAHUL DRAVID: Indian Cricket Team’s head coach Rahul Dravid celebrates his 51st birthday today on January 11. Widely regarded as one of the best batters of his generation, Dravid defined an era of cricket across the globe. A seamless blend of class, composure and technique separated him from the rest of the pack.
Apart from his staggering individual spoils in the sport, Dravid has also made a name for himself as one of the most impactful coaches in cricket history. From leading his nation to a U-19 World Cup triumph to an undefeated run to the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup, today let’s take a look at Rahul Dravid’s coaching journey with the Indian Cricket Team.
From Cricket Legend to Coach- IPL, U-19 & India A
Rahul Dravid began his coaching career in 2014 after assuming the role of a mentor for Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals.
It wasn’t until 2016, that the legendary cricketer took charge of India’s Under-19 team and the India A team.
He kicked off his tenure with India by taking his squad to the U-19 World Cup final but ended up losing to a Shimron Hetmyer-led West Indies side. A couple of years later, Dravid returned to the same stage but with a new group of U-19 stars to win the trophy in 2018.
Head of Cricket Operations At NCA
Rahul Dravid’s impressive feat led to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appoint him as the Head of Cricket Operations at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) Bengaluru in 2018.
Head Coach Of Team India
- After his brief tenure with the NCA, Dravid succeeded Ravi Shastri in 2021 as the head coach of the senior Indian Cricket Team.
- His stint as the head coach experienced a shocking bump when Virat Kohli decided to give up his captaincy from all formats of the game in 2022. He handled this transition phase with caution as he put Rohit Sharma at the helm of the squad.
- The first major competition for Rahul Dravid as a coach came in 2022 at the T20 World Cup in Australia. India started off the tournament well, sealing a historic win over their arch-rivals Pakistan. However, the Men in Blue were eventually hammered by 10 wickets in the semi-finals of the tournament by England.
- A second major disappointment followed when India failed to show up in the 2023 World Test Championship final in London. Despite beating the same Australian side in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India were just not able to cross the finish line at the ICC event.
- Next, Dravid was on a redemption arc in the 2023 ODI World Cup at home as India put up an undefeated run into the final of the tournament. However, history repeated itself again as the Men in Blue fell short of bagging the trophy against Australia in front of a packed Narendra Modi Stadium.
While Rahul Dravid might not have won any ICC trophy as the coach of the Indian Cricket Team, his impact on the squad has been massive. As a player, he helped his side bag the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy while spearheading his side to an ODI World Cup final in 2003. He also amassed 24,177 runs across Test and ODI cricket during his tenure as a player. Given the feats Dravid has achieved in international cricket, he will undoubtedly go down in the sport’s history as a true icon.
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