Former India head coach Rahul Dravid opened up about his working relationship with Rohit Sharma during his tenure, saying he enjoyed their conversations beyond just cricket, which helped him understand the current ODI skipper better as a person.
By winning both a T20 World Cup and a Champions Trophy, Rohit has already cemented his place amongst the greatest captains in the sport.
“I always felt he deeply cared about the team. Right from the first day, he was very clear about how he wanted to run the team and what was important to him,” Dravid said about Rohit in a conversation with Ashwin on his YouTube show.
Dravid was appointed the head coach of the Indian team in November 2021. For the pair of Rohit and Dravid, 2022 and 2023 were heartbreaking. Under their guidance, the Indian team did well in bilaterals, but lost three ICC knockouts, including two finals, with one coming at home in Ahmedabad. Dravid’s contract as coach expired after the 2023 World Cup final loss, and he wasn’t keen to ask for an extension. It was at that point that Rohit convinced him to stay on as head coach through the T20 World Cup. The pair led India to end a decade-long wait for an ICC trophy, clinching the title in 2024 in Barbados.
Having seen Rohit from close quarters, Dravid reviewed his style of captaincy right from the start.
“I think it’s really important in a relationship between a captain and a coach. I always believed it should be the captain’s team. I have been a player and a captain as well. A captain has to lead the team in terms of the direction he wants to go in. You have to help him with that. And, of course, you need to help the captain in terms of helping him achieve clarity and understand what’s required.
Enjoyed knowing Rohit as a person: Dravid
After winning last year’s World Cup, pictures of Rohit and Dravid surfaced with the captain singing high praise to the coach and vice versa. Their relationship has been special for Dravid.
“More than anything, I really enjoyed getting to know him as a person, chatting with him. We were comfortable being able to sit and have conversations with each other without having to talk only about cricket. It was easy to sit and meet with him and have dinner. It wasn’t forced. That was nice,” noted Dravid.
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