I was in the commentary box in Dubai in November 2021 when news came in that Rahul Dravid had been formally appointed head coach of India’s men’s cricket team. Sir Clive Lloyd, one of the greatest captains the sport has seen, was very excited by the decision. “Rahul Dravid will be a very successful head coach for India,” he told me. “Someone who has scored 13,000 Test runs will have the respect in the dressing room to tell anyone where they are going wrong. His personality is such that he will not want the limelight and yet get the job done. Wish the West Indies had someone like him to help the national team.”
On Wednesday afternoon, two years and a week later, Dravid’s contract was extended, despite India being unable to take the final step in global events under his stewardship. Losses in the World Test Championship and World Cup finals in 2023 came not long after a semi-final exit in the T20 World Cup in 2022. Despite that, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided that he and his coaching staff are best-placed to end that trophy drought, starting with the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States of America in June 2024.
“Mr. Rahul Dravid’s vision, professionalism, and unyielding efforts have been important pillars in Team India’s success,” said Roger Binny, according to a BCCI media release. “As Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team, you are always under immense scrutiny and I extend appreciation to him not only for embracing the challenges but for thriving in them. The performances of the Indian Team are a testament to his strategic guidance.”
Jay Shah, the board secretary, was as fulsome in his praise. “Having won 10 consecutive games before the final, our World Cup campaign was nothing short of extraordinary, and the Head Coach deserves appreciation for setting up the right platform for the team to flourish,” he said. “The Head Coach has our full backing, and we will provide him with all the support needed for sustained success at the international level.”
Now that an extension has been agreed, how do we evaluate Dravid’s tenure so far? India haven’t won anything on the big stage on his watch, and the World Cup final defeat, as well as the WTC final loss, will sting for a long time. But then, there is always something beyond the results, and what happens backstage is perhaps as important when it comes to a coach of his stature. The camaraderie between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, for example, was a feature of the dressing room in the World Cup. To take it a step further, the Indian change room seemed the happiest, with every player enjoying the experience. Credit for that must go, at least in part, to Dravid.
For all the criticism, he and Rohit did get the combination right. Had the Hardik Pandya injury not impacted the campaign midway, things could well have been different. Most importantly, the approach was different. It was refreshing to see India learn from the mistakes made during the T20 World Cup in Australia, and come out with positive intent. While Rohit led from the front, it couldn’t have happened without a buy-in from Dravid.
Kohli too is back in form and seems in a very good mental space at the moment. In all, with the T20 World Cup seven months away and a very important South Africa series round the corner, it seems prudent to keep faith in Dravid for another year at least. He now knows it all and there will be a sense of continuity with not too much time left. With all the experimentation behind him, he will also know what works and can take a final shot at a senior world title, which has eluded him as player and coach.
“Together, we have witnessed the highs and lows, and throughout this journey, the support and camaraderie within the group have been phenomenal,” Dravid was quoted as saying in the press release. “I am genuinely proud of the culture we have set in the dressing room. It’s a culture that stands resilient, whether in moments of triumph or adversity.”
Those comments are in keeping with the philosophy he had as a player. “When you play team sport, you need to do the not-so-glamourous things to be able to make a difference,” he once told me at a corporate event, when asked to look back at his time as wicketkeeper-batter in ODIs. “You are the one responsible for the environment around you and it is important you do the things that not many will want to do. That’s why it’s a team.
“I can tell you I was the most grumpy at the end of a day’s play if I had dropped a catch, which I believed could have been taken. Much more than getting out for zero, dropping a catch made me really upset and grumpy. Getting out early was more a personal disappointment. Yes, the runs were for the team and all, but still it was more personal than anything else. But dropping a catch meant I was not able to do something for a teammate and that upset me more. A catch allows you to enjoy as a team and be happy at someone else’s success and that’s what team sport is all about.”
Dravid is one of the most intense and dedicated men you will come across. He deserves a world title as much as anyone. May be this extension will get him closer. While sport does not always have happy endings, it does tend to reward its ardent devotees. Dravid, needless to say, is one.