It is time to say goodbye to Rahul Dravid as his tenure as the India head coach ends on Saturday with the culmination of the T20 World Cup 2024. (Full Coverage | Cricket News)
India face South Africa in the title clash and Dravid would hope he can end his coaching stint on a high with a silverware. While India could not lay their hands on any ICC trophy under Dravid, his tenure was filled with highs.
Here are the five big takeaways and the best moments from Rahul Dravid's coaching career ahead of his final match.
2023 Cricket World Cup
Probably the greatest World Cup campaign by a team which did not win the tournament. Dravid was at the helm of the tactics and his biggest achievement was fixing the number 4 spot in the batting line-up.
Shreyas Iyer was given enough chances to own that spot and he lit up the World Cup. Even though India lost the final, the campaign in which the Men In Blue dominated absolutely every single opponent will remain a highlight for the Dravid-Rohit duo.
Weathering The Storm
It was a tumultuous time when Dravid took over the coaching role and one of his biggest achievement that is often overlooked is how he handled things to make the dressing room a calmer place.
Virat Kohli had just been sacked, a new captain had taken over and it could have resulted in internal grouping in the side but nothing of that sort happened. The credit for that must go to Dravid and co.
Busting Bazball
Bazball had entered India with a lot of hype. All that hype was lost when Bazball went home as the Indian team was just too stiff a challenge for them to overcome. However, it was the English team who took the lead in the first Test.
The team management led by Dravid did not press the panic button despite the loss and India overcame the deficit to win the series 4-1.
India vs Pakistan, Melbourne 2022 T20 World Cup
Rarely does one see Dravid expressing his emotions in public but such was that day in Melbourne that even he could not hold himself back. As R Ashwin hit the winning runs, Indian camp celebrated and Dravid's animated reaction stole the show.
Changed T20I Approach
Dravid took over as India coach in December 2021 following the 2021 T20 World Cup disaster. Critics had pointed out India's defensive approach in T20Is and Dravid combined with Rohit to change that.
Under his tenure India have won 52 T20Is, the most by a full ICC members. There win/loss ration under Dravid is a staggering 3.058, way better than the second-placed Australia with 1.85.
The changed approach helped India become the fastest scoring team in T20Is under Dravid. A T20 World Cup trophy would be a fitting end to Dravid's coaching journey.
