Former Team India's head coach Rahul Dravid believes that the Men in Blue will benefit from the extensive playing and coaching experience of their new coach, Gautam Gambhir. Dravid made these remarks during an event in Delhi organised by Roombr.
Dravid has an illustrious career not only as a cricketer but also as India's head coach. Since taking on the role of head coach in November 2021, Dravid led Team India to greater heights under his coaching. Under his guidance, the team finished as runners-up in both the 2021-2023 ICC World Test Championship and the 2023 ODI World Cup, which was held in India. Moreover, Team India went on to end their 11-year-long ICC trophy drought by defeating South Africa by seven runs to claim their second T20 World Cup title in June, earlier this year. In response to a media inquiry, Dravid confidently said that the team stands to gain from the contributions that Gambhir will bring to the coaching staff. Currently Gambhir is busy coaching Team India in the ongoing Test series against Bangladesh which got underway on September 19.
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Rahul Dravid heaps praise on Gautam Gambhir
"I think he has got a lot of experience as a player. He has played a lot. He has obviously coached quite a bit. In any situation one brings his own experiences, knowledge to the table. I am sure the team is going to benefit what Gautam is going to bring to the table along with his team," he said.
BCCI officially announced Gautam Gambhir’s appointment as head coach on July 9, just days after India’s T20 World Cup 2024 title triumph. Prior to this role, Gambhir enjoyed significant success with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), leading them to their first Indian Premier League (IPL) title as their mentor after 2014 and securing their overall third title with Shreyas Iyer as captain.
Rahul Dravid Returns to Rajasthan Royals as Head Coach
Meanwhile, Rahul Dravid is set to return to the Rajasthan Royals (RR) as head coach ahead of the upcoming season of the IPL next year. This marks another chapter in Dravid's coaching career as he looks to make an impact with the franchise.
Dravid previously spent five seasons with the franchise from 2011 to 2015 and will immediately begin working with Kumar Sangakkara, the Royals' Director of Cricket, to implement the team's cricketing strategy. Dravid played 46 matches for the Royals during the 2011-13 seasons, scoring 1,276 runs at an average of 29.67 with seven fifties. His highest score was 66. The 51-year-old Dravid, renowned as one of India's greatest batsmen, started his coaching career with the Royals in 2014, transitioning from team captain to mentor. Since then, he has held various coaching roles, including at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), the Indian Men's U19, and the Indian Men's Senior team. Under his guidance, India reached the top of the Test, ODI, and T20I rankings and recently won the T20 World Cup 2024 title.
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