Rahul Dravid finished his international career just when Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were trying to fit into the Indian side. The outgoing India head coach now finishes his coaching career with the T20 World Cup trophy and the duo of Rohit and Virat established as legends of the game. (More Cricket News)
In a video uploaded by BCCI on Saturday, the T20 World Cup-winning coach opened up about the relation he shared with the two modern day legends.
"I've really enjoyed working with Rohit, someone I knew as a young boy. Just to see him grow as a person and grow as a leader in Indian cricket, what someone like him has been able to contribute to the team over the last 10-12 years, both as a player and now as a leader, has been a real tribute to him and the effort that he's put in," Dravid said about the Indian skipper.
Dravid also said that he enjoyed seeing Rohit's commitment to the team.
"I've really enjoyed getting to him know as a person as well and enjoyed seeing his commitment and his care for the team; to just try and get the environment right where everyone feels safe and secure and enjoys themselves. It's something that I'll miss."
Dravid also revealed that he was fascinated by Virat Kohli's desire to improve.
"Even with someone like Virat. In the initial days, just a couple of series with him as a captain, just a couple of matches. Getting to know him as well and to see how he goes about his business, the professionalism that he continues to display...his desired to improve, to get better. It's been fascinating for me to watch."
Dravid also talked about the challenges he faced as a coach during the initial phase.
"One of the things that we really had to manage, especially in the early part of my coaching tenure here with India. We were at the back-end of the Covid restrictions.
We really had to manage their workloads through all the three different formats. There were a few injuries and it led to me working with something like 5-6 captains in the first 8-10 months of me being here.
It was definitely something that I hadn't envisaged, or not something that I thought about, but it just sort of organically happened."
Apart from winning the T20 World Cup, India also made it to the final of the home ODI World Cup in 2023. Under Dravid, India also completed a comeback 4-1 drubbing of England's famed Bazball style in Tests.
