Indian head coach Rahul Dravid feels that his job as a coach is to develop the team before the match and that it is the captain’s responsibility to lead them well in the game. Being the head coach of India for the last two years, Dravid has allowed his captain, Rohit Sharma, and the other players the freedom to express themselves on the field.
Dravid replaced Ravi Shastri as India’s head coach after the T20 World Cup in 2021. His appointment was welcomed by one and all as the Indian cricket fraternity hoped that the legendary batsman would finally help India win an ICC trophy but the team had a poor run in the 2022 T20 World Cup and 2023 WTC final and the Men in Blue would look to turn things around in the forthcoming ODI World Cup in home soil.
Speaking at the press conference on Friday, Rahul Dravid asserted that the coach’s job is to build the team before the match and reckons that it is the skipper’s responsibility to take the team forward in the game and wants the players to express themselves in the field.
“Honestly, once the game starts, it’s the captain’s team. It’s the team that needs to take it forward, they need to execute it, they need to do the job. As a coach I see my work in the lead-up to the games, in the lead-up to this World Cup, trying to get the squad we got eventually. Building up the team, building up the squad, and then hoping to allow the players to play and express themselves to have fun,” Rahul Dravid said.
Rahul Dravid’s contract is set to expire after the completion of the 2023 ODI World Cup. His extension will mainly depend on how the team performs in the marquee event and the former Indian skipper will be hopeful of guiding the Indian team to the third ODI World Cup title.
I Don’t Think Of Myself As A Player Anymore – Rahul Dravid On 2007 World Cup Loss
Rahul Dravid was in charge of the team at the 2007 World Cup. Still, it ended up being a forgettable chapter in his career because India was eliminated from the group stage after losing to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Speaking on the memories of the marquee event, the former Indian skipper said that he has moved on from that and wants to focus on helping the players achieve their dreams in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
“It’s a long time since I was a player. I almost forgot that I was actually a cricket player at one stage to be very honest with you.”
“I have moved on from that. I don’t think of myself as a player anymore. Maybe that’s the mind-space difference… I’m focused on helping the group to do the best they can. I mean in the end that’s the job of the support staff, the job of the coach really is to support the vision of the captain and help him execute his vision over the course of the next couple of months, and I hope we can do that really well,” Rahul Dravid added.
The most disheartening outcome for India in the history of the World Cup was their elimination from the group stage following defeats to underdog Bangladesh and its neighbours Sri Lanka in 2007. The Men in Blue had an excellent team with some of the most well-known players, but they were unable to get past the group stage.