The former Indian head coach, Rahul Dravid, finished his coaching tenure for the national side in the best possible way, helping India win their second T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA), as they got the better of South Africa in the final.
Just eight months ago, from that point, Rahul Dravid and the Indian team faced tough times when they lost the final of the 50-over World Cup against Australia, despite being unbeaten for the whole tournament.
They won most of the game under the guidance of the former India batter, but one thing that was expected to be among the regrets of Rahul Dravid would be their away red-ball series defeat against South Africa, even after being 1-0 winning the opening game in Centurion.
“You have no right to always win”- Rahul Dravid
The veteran was present in Chennai during the final of the Tamil Nadu Premier League when he was asked to pick the lowest point of his coaching tenure, and he didn’t waste a single second to point this series.
Also Read: Bangladesh’s Test Tour Of Pakistan Comes Under Cloud Amid Political Disorder
“If you ask me what are the lowest points, I would say that the South Africa Test series early on in my (coaching) career. You know, we won the first Test match in South Africa in Centurion, and then we were playing the second and third Test matches. We had never won a Test series in South Africa, as you know, there (was) a really big opportunity for us to win that series.” Rahul Dravid expressed in a conversation with Star Sports.
It was during the 2021/22 season, when under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, the team started with a 113-run victory in the opening game at the SuperSport Park, as the fast bowlers of the side showed their caliber in both innings. In nine attempts, they came close on many occasions but had to get the wooden spoon.
Dravid felt that they had the chance to win that series, but the hosts played some good cricket as they chased successfully in the fourth innings in the last two games at the Wanderers and Newlands.
“Some of our senior players were not there. You know, Rohit Sharma was injured, we didn’t have some senior players in the series, but we were very close and in both the Test matches- the second and third match- in the third innings, we had a big opportunity, we could have set a decent score and won the game, but SA played well and they chased in the fourth innings.” Rahul Dravid remarked during the interaction. “So, I would say that was probably my lowest point in my coaching thing of not being able to win that series despite being ahead.”
The Indore-born reckoned that it would be vital for the coaches to go through ups and downs as a team could hardly win all the games they would play.
“But there were a lot of learnings from that, a lot of those experiences. We learned a lot from that- about our team, and about things that we need to do. So, I think for coaches what’s very important is that you will go through ups and downs what is important is to maintain the balance and is to realize that you can’t always win games.”
Also Read: Rohit Sharma To Miss 3rd ODI vs Sri Lanka? Reports Claim This Upset
When the 51-year-old shared his advice on what the new coaches should be aware of in handling a team, he touched on the importance of picking the right team and making the right preparation.
“Other teams have also come to play you are playing against some world-class sides, and you have no right to always win you have a right to prepare well, process rightly, to pick the best team, and do the right preparation.” Rahul Dravid concluded. “But even despite that, some days you lose, and you have to learn how to keep a balance and keep lifting your team and the morale of the side.”