It is not surprising that Rahul Dravid has agreed to remain the coach of the Indian cricket team for the next six months i.e. till the end of the T20 World Cup 2024 being held in West Indies-America in June.
There are also reports that former fast bowler Ashish Nehra was also approached to become the coach of the Indian team, but he refused. Despite this, Dravid continuing as coach is the best and only option for the team at this time. Imagine what would have happened if Dravid was not ready to remain the coach.
A new coach, whoever he was, would have had to join an Indian team just days before an important tour, disappointed by the defeat in the World Cup final. The first match of the South African tour consisting of two Tests and six white-ball matches is to start from December 10. South Africa is the last bastion on whose soil the Indian team has so far been deprived of winning the Test series.
If the team had got a new coach, then expectations would have been made that he would perform well as soon as he arrives, as a big professional cricketer must do. But there is also such a thing as the atmosphere in the dressing room which gets disrupted a bit with the arrival of a new coach (with or without his support staff), no matter how competent and capable he is. Initially everyone in the dressing room felt a little uneasy with the arrival of the new coach. And that would not have been the best way to face South Africa on its own soil.
Whenever Dravid's tenure as a coach and the impact of his partnership with Rohit's captaincy is discussed, the atmosphere of this dressing room is at the center due to which he has achieved so much. Another English word most used about Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma has been 'team culture'.
The most accurate meaning of the word culture that has been used here in Hindi is not culture but improvement. It is about improving working methods and habits. Which shows the true meaning of being in the Indian team during the last two years compared to before. It is not that there was commotion inside the dressing room before the arrival of Dravid-Rohit partnership.
No matter what happened in the dressing room over the last two decades, India have produced some great results, the team energy has improved significantly, and it is much, much better than the horror stories of the 1980s and 90s. Is.
However, common people believe that the Dravid-Rohit duo has taken the team a step forward in terms of rules, professionalism and maturity. The team's unique performance during the World Cup was the combined result of all these things. Each member of the team talks clearly about the role of each player under the leadership of their captain, especially the batsmen. Not only this, the selection of the playing eleven was also handled as it should be.
The players who were not included were informed in advance about the reasons for the same, while the players selected in the final eleven were given the rationale as to why they were selected and also what were expected from them. Irrespective of the result of the match, the performance of each player was reviewed separately.
The captain and the coach talked to each player, Rohit also said before the World Cup, "We have tried to talk to all the players after the selection and announcement of the playing eleven. We talk to them face to face. One- Let us tell you why he was not selected... Captaincy is not done based on one's likes and dislikes. If someone is not in the team, there is definitely some reason behind it.
As a coach, Dravid convinced his captain to open the bat suddenly and score runs quickly as an opener in a 50-over match. In the World Cup, Rohit's aggressive opening batting gave India the start it needed in the powerplay. Rohit's strike rate of 125.94 was the highest among the top six Indian batsmen.
He hit less fours but hit 22 more sixes than Virat Kohli (68 fours, 9 sixes), who scored the most runs in the tournament. Rohit hit a total of 66 fours and 31 sixes. Dravid's return to the team reflects his sense of responsibility as well as his desire. With the T20 World Cup about to start next year, Dravid has given himself another chance to make a mark by helping India win the series in South Africa and win an ICC trophy after a decade.
Amidst all this, this is a very delicate period of change, especially in Indian T20 cricket. After the end of the 50-over World Cup, India has to play only 11 T20 matches till the T20 World Cup to be held in June next year. Of these, eight matches are to be played on their home ground against Australia (five) and Afghanistan (three) while three matches are to be played with the South African team on the upcoming tour.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have already got their names removed from all the white ball matches played in South Africa. In such a situation, Dravid will also have to answer this question, perhaps he should also raise it in the conversation with the selectors, whether he should be in India's T20 World Cup 2024 plans?
Talking about T20 figures alone, Kohli has crossed the magical mark of 180 – with a batting average above 50 (52.74) and strike rate above 130 (137.97). In a format of cricket that is increasingly leaning towards the predetermined ability to hit sixes, Rohit's performance in the Cricket World Cup 2023 is proof that he has found a new gear that can challenge the youngsters looking for a place in the T20 team. Could.
This will certainly create a complex situation for the selectors – and Dravid. Nevertheless, there can be no one more experienced than Dravid to handle this ups and downs phase of Indian cricket. They know that every kind of talk about the big star of Indian cricket is welcome except his retirement.
But at the same time they also know that apart from the 11 International T20 matches, there are some other factors too which can decide the fate of Virat and, to a lesser extent, Rohit too in this shorter format of the game. It is called IPL. Its selection may be very tough, but along with all this, it can also make Dravid's job very easy.
Also Read: List of all 20 teams qualified for the T20 World Cup 2024
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