Speaking exclusively with Sports Tak, former India head coach Ravi Shastri reflected on current coach Rahul Dravid's tenure with the senior men's national team so far and the challenges that beckon. Shastri, who played 80 Tests and 150 ODIs for India, exuded confidence in Dravid's ability to lead the team to greater heights in the upcoming months but also affirmed that winning major tournaments takes time for any coach. The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted one key reason that puts Dravid in good stead when it comes to coaching the current Indian team.
"It takes time. I took time myself and he (Rahul Dravid) will too. Dravid was involved with the NCA (National Cricket Academy), India A side and he is with the senior team now. He is quite experienced with the players in contemporary cricket and system. But give him time," Shastri said.
Shastri had two separate stints as the head coach of Team India. The Indian side registered several memorable bilateral series wins both at home and in overseas conditions, but Shastri failed to lead India to an ICC trophy. He was replaced by Dravid after the 2021 T20 World Cup debacle.
So far, Dravid has been the coach of India in two multi-national tournaments in white-ball cricket. The first one came in the Asia Cup 2022 and the next was the T20 World Cup in the same year. In both tournaments, Rohit Sharma's men fell short of the ultimate goal.
While stating the worth of the two Asia Cup triumphs under his tutelage, Shastri insisted on the philosophy of putting one's best foot forward and living with the results.
"India won two Asia Cup titles during my tenure, but no one talks about it. When the team fails to win the Asia Cup, everyone starts talking about it. Everyone wants to win. It is important to put your best forward and see what happens. Sometimes, the team doesn't play its best cricket but ends up winning the game. You have to be extremely lucky for that to happen. Very few teams win a World Cup by not playing well on that day," Shastri added.
Dravid's contract runs till the ODI World Cup later in India where the Men in Blue is expected to end its long-awaited ICC trophy drought.
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