Indian cricket's history has shown us that great players don't always become great coaches. Ask Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble or even Greg Chappell for that matter. All these illustrious player-turned-coaches have painfully learnt that it is more about fitment than credentials. At the highest level, understanding what the players want and aligning with their style of functioning generally proves to be more important than telling them what to do. Many accomplished former players don't seem to have had this insight or self-awareness. But Rahul Dravid certainly isn't one of them. (Full Coverage | Schedule | Cricket News)
In the past, Dravid has repeatedly declined offers to become head coach of the Indian men's cricket team. He was in line for the job in 2017 after Kumble resigned from the high-profile role owing to his "untenable" relationship with the then-skipper Virat Kohli. Dravid had turned the opportunity down, saying he wanted to groom young cricketers and spend time with his kids.
Dravid was again approached in October 2021 towards the end of Ravi Shastri's contract, but he is said to have politely refused again, citing his desire to focus on junior cricket. The former India captain was mentoring the Under-19 cricket team and heading the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru at the time.
It took persuasion from his long-time teammate Sourav Ganguly (then BCCI president) and BCCI secretary Jay Shah for Dravid to reluctantly accept the position. He agreed to take on the mantle till the 2023 ODI World Cup. The marquee quadrennial event is now nearly upon us, but opinion on Dravid's performance so far is divided.
Many would argue that Dravid has had one of the strongest Indian teams in history at his disposal. The current group comprises an embarrassment of riches in the batting department, a fearsome pace bowling attack featuring Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, and a variety of wrist and finger spinners who have delivered time and time again. Simply put, the abundance of resources is undisputed. However, the results have not always corresponded to the resources.
Under Dravid, India have contested two ICC events — the 2022 T20 World Cup and World Test Championship (WTC) final — and could not bring the trophy home in either of them. While England thrashed India by 10 wickets in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup, Australia proved too good for India in the summit clash of the Test Championship, handing the Men In Blue a chastening 209-run defeat.
Dravid's tenure began on a bright note, though, as the Indian team defeated New Zealand 3-0 in a T20I series that was the ex-India skipper's first series as full-time head coach. But the legendary batter has not managed to deliver on that promise consistently.
Questions have also been raised about Dravid's tactical decisions regarding selection, including the dropping and then recall of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in Tests, and India's underwhelming performance in overseas Test series. When asked in person, Dravid hasn't always answered these questions with the straight bat that he used to employ against opposition bowling attacks.
A case in point: the immediate aftermath of the WTC final loss. On air for Star Sports, Ganguly had asked Dravid about the concerning chinks in the Indian top-order's armour while playing in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries.
"Rahul, you have been a legend but why do you think some of our top-order batters (Kohli, Pujara, Rohit Sharma) have struggled outside the sub-continent most of the times?" Ganguly posed.
"We have experienced players in top five and they have set high standards. These are the boys who would be called legends in future. They have won two series in Australia and won Test matches in England. We are doing the best we can," was Dravid's obfuscatory response.
