- The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) deserves appreciation for appointing legendary Rahul Dravid as the Head Coach of the Indian cricket team for two years. As reported in the media, the BCCI Chief Sourav Ganguly and Secretary Jay Shah personally took interest in the matter and had a lengthy discussion with the stalwart former cricketer convincing him to shoulder the high-profile role. Rahul Dravid is widely known as the Wall for tenacity, doggedness, unbreachable defense, solid technique, and most importantly, having established his legendary credentials by scoring runs all over the cricketing world. The stature and aura Rahul enjoys amongst the cricket fraternity are second to none. His appointment definitely bodes good tidings for Indian cricket.
PC: Aakash Arya
- Rahul will be taking over from Ravi Shastri, another stalwart former cricketer, who had a successful stint with the Indian cricket team contributing handsomely to our overseas triumphs on the back of commanding and awe-inspiring performances. The no-nonsense, straightforward, aggressive, positive, and in-your-face demeanor of Ravi Shastri had a huge role in Team India scaling newer heights that culminated in getting crowned as the number one Test team in the world. However, failing to conquer the International Cricket Council (ICC) sponsored world events would somehow rob the sheen off Shastri’s otherwise commendable stint with the team. At least one title victory in a few of the ICC events in recent years would have been most welcome.
- Ravi Shastri and his team involving Bharat Arun as the bowling coach deserve special accolades for identifying, unearthing, grooming, nurturing, and shaping several quality bowlers, both pace as well as spin, into world-class arrack. Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and the ilk have emerged as a force to reckon with under the tutelage of the Shastri-Arun combination. That Team India possesses one of the most potent pace firepower going around speaks volumes about the way our bowling department has been served. Since batting is always considered our forte, there is no necessity to delve on the same as some of the best in the world make up our lineup. Of course, the elevation of Rohit Sharma as an opener in Test cricket was the brainchild of Ravi Shastri too allowing the hitman to finally find his groove in the longer format.
PC: Venkata Krishna B
- The immediate challenge confronting Rahul Dravid is to strive to elevate Team India to the next level as also ensure a smooth transition of some of the well-known established stars who are at the evenings of their career. Of course, most of the youngsters representing India at different levels have all passed under the watchful eyes of Rahul Dravid in his various roles as Coach, Mentor, and Director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), respectively. The assembly line of junior players promising to represent the senior team in the near future is well served with the way Dravid has personally groomed many of them. Expectations from him will be sky high, and Rahul is most capable of fulfilling as well as setting the bar even higher. Over to the Wall!
