When you mention Indian cricket, Rahul Dravid's name inevitably comes up as one of the stalwarts of the game. Known for his technical prowess and unwavering concentration as a batter, Dravid is all set to lead Rohit Sharma and the team in their quest for ODI World Cup glory, beginning with a high-octane match against Australia on October 8, Sunday.
While this is his first ODI World Cup campaign as the head coach, it isn't his debut on the world stage. Just a year ago, Dravid and Rohit guided India to T20 World Cup semi-finals. However, a devastating 10-wicket loss to England cut short their championship dream.
Going back in time, Dravid, as a player, experienced one of the toughest phases in his illustrious career during the 2007 ODI World Cup. That year, the Indian team faced unexpected defeats against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, resulting in an early exit. However, the shadow of that disappointing performance seems to have faded over time.
With more than a decade and a half separating then and now, Dravid has undergone a profound transformation. The player who once dominated bowlers on the pitch is now in a unique position to mold the future of Indian cricket. In the press conference ahead of India vs Australia clash, Dravid admitted, “It's a long time since I was a player. I almost forgot that I was actually a cricket player at one stage to be very honest with you.
He elaborated on his evolved perspective during a press conference, emphasising his current role as a mentor. “I have moved on from that. I don't think of myself as a player anymore. Maybe that's the mind-space difference... I'm focussed on helping the group to do the best they can.
“I mean in the end that's the job of the support staff, the job of the coach really is to support the vision of the captain and help him execute his vision over the course of the next couple of months and hope we can do that really well,” he added.
Among the plethora of strategies and ideologies in cricket, "controlling the controllables" stands out. While this phrase might be synonymous with another Indian cricket legend, MS Dhoni, no one embodies this sentiment more than Dravid himself.
Dravid candidly said, “I guess you recognise as a coach that once the game starts, once the guys cross the line, there's only so much you can do. As coaches, we don't score a single run or take a single wicket in the tournament. All we can do is support the players.”
With this ethos, Dravid underlines the essence of modern-day coaching – it's about mentorship, guidance, and most importantly, unwavering support. As the World Cup unfolds, the cricketing world awaits to see how Dravid's philosophy translates into the Indian team's performance.
Dravid also talked about the team combination ahead of India vs Australia clash.
“This World Cup isn’t going to be decided on whether you’ve read the pitch well or not but on the adaptability and how well you play. The squad will allow us to put out various combination depending on the situation,” Dravid said.
“We haven’t played a lot of 50-over cricket in the last couple of years because of the two t20 world cups. Except for the last couple of months, we haven’t prioritised this format. It will be difficult to play the same number of ODIs as were played between 2015-2019 cycle. ODI cricket allows you see great spells, rotation of strike, good spin, as a coach I would love see this format thrive,” he added.
India's squad for ODI World Cup 2023:
Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav
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