Indian skipper Rohit Sharma heaped praise on Indian head coach Rahul Dravid for his massive role in getting the team together and keeping the players collected for their dream to win the ODI World Cup 2023 in India. The Men in Blue are eager to give Australia another outstanding performance in the finals on Sunday after dominating the show in the mega event thus far.
Having won nine straight games in the league stage of the tournament, Team India dominated in the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup by being merciless against New Zealand. With no losses in the competition, the hosts appear ready to break their curse of not winning an ICC trophy since the 2013 Champions Trophy.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Rohit Sharma praised head coach Rahul Dravid for giving clarity and helping everyone understand their responsibilities. The Indian skipper gave him credit for his performance at the bat since he significantly improved the team during the powerplay.
“His [Dravid’s] role has been absolutely massive in terms of getting that clarity which I keep talking about, It’s one thing for me to think about and another thing for the coach to not agree to certain things”.
“Clearly, looking at how Rahul bhai himself has played his cricket and how I play these days is quite contrasting. For him to agree and give me that freedom and liberty to go and play like that says a lot about him.” Rohit Sharma said
Team India has been able to put their opponents on the back foot from the start of the innings largely due to Rohit Sharma’s explosive Powerplay starts. The Indian skipper has scored 550 runs from 10 innings at a strike rate of 124.15 and would be keen to make an impact for the team in the marquee final against Australia.
It’s For Us To Do If For Rahul Dravid – Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma lauded Rahul Dravid for standing up for the team in difficult times, citing the example of the team’s failure in the 2022 T20 World Cup and providing the players with role clarity, which has helped them to perform their best at the highest level and said that the team wants to win the championship for him on the home soil.
“Also the way he has stood by the players in difficult times, especially during and after the T20 World Cup, We had a good run up until the semi-finals and then we lost. And how he reacted to certain situations and informed the players about how we want to play says a lot about him as well”.
“And obviously what he has done for Indian cricket is massive. He too feels that he wants to be a part of this big occasion. It’s for us to do it for him,” Rohit Sharma added.
As one of the best batters to ever play the game for India, Rahul Dravid was not part of India’s World Cup squad during his playing days.
However, he was a member of the Indian squad that finished runners-up in 2003 followed by a disastrous World Cup campaign in 2007 under his captaincy in the West Indies. Now, he stands a chance to win the mega event as a coach if the team manages to win against Australia in Ahmedabad on Sunday.