Salman Butt, a tainted former Pakistan batsman feels that Indian youngsters who are training under newly appointed interim coach Rahul Dravid in place of Ravi Shastri who is with Test specialists in England are lucky since they are learning from a legend whose contribution to cricket is enormous. Salman Butt stated that apart from his adequate technical knowledge, Rahul Dravid has the advantage of being good even with organisational skills.
Rahul Dravid is currently mentoring the Indian limited-overs squad in Sri Lanka, which has a number of youngsters yet to play an international game. He had earlier coached the India A and India U-19 sides before taking over as the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
Salman Butt: Rahul Dravid Has Organizational Skills Besides Technical Expertise
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Salman Butt praised BCCI’s decision to hire the services of Rahul Dravid.
He stated: “India are hiring specialists to train their players. Not only specialists in cricket skills, but also ones who are organizational specialists, who can guide teams in the right direction.
“A person who is now working with the team but has in the past run the side as well. Rahul Dravid has been the captain as well. And it wasn’t if he was the makeshift captain and or a failed leader, who was sacked. In fact, he was a successful skipper.”
Salman Butt further pointed out that Rahul Dravid and other former pros such as Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman had good organizational skills, which is why they could help a young leader like MS Dhoni succeed.
The former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt elaborated: “Organizational skills of the (Indian) players can be judged from the fact that, even with five-six big names, a team managed to work towards a goal in a united manner. Dhoni captained Dravid, Ganguly, Tendulkar and Laxman. It is not an easy job.”
“I had seen during my playing days, the captain respected the seniors, who reciprocated by backing their leader. So Dravid obviously has organizational skills. Add to it, his technical expertise. Dravid has proved himself in the toughest conditions. So he knows what to teach the youngsters since he has gained that experience.”
Shikhar Dhawan said he is looking forward to working with Rahul Dravid, who will travel with the team as the head coach in the absence of Ravi Shastri, who is with the Test regulars in England. The opener stressed that it’s an honour for him to lead India in Sri Lanka. Shikhar Dhawan, who is the newly-appointed Indian captain for the Sri Lanka tour will lead a 20-man squad comprising of many youngsters who did well in IPL 2020 and/or IPL 2021.
Rahul Dravid Won’t Be Under Pressure: VVS Laxman
According to former India batsman VVS Laxman, although the Sri Lanka series comprising of 3 ODIs and as many T20Is will be a short one, players who get a chance to spend time with new coach Rahul Dravid will definitely benefit from the experience.
VVS Laxman told Star Sports: “I don’t think that there is any pressure (on Dravid). It is an opportunity for him to create future champions of Indian cricket. It is not necessary that everyone will get an opportunity to play in this series. But just spending time with Rahul and sharing his experiences, which is already done with a lot of players in the squad will just enhance their future.”
India’s limited-overs series against Sri Lanka will begin with the first ODI in Colombo on July 13. The likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, and Ishan Kishan will join an array of youngsters, some of whom are expected to make their India debuts in the island nation. Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Nitish Rana, K Gowtham and Chetan Sakariya got maiden India call-ups.