(AP/AFP Photo)
After India’s loss in the 2023 ODI World Cup final, Rahul Dravid opted to extend his coaching tenure, driven by a sense of unfinished business. According to BCCI secretary Jay Shah, Dravid felt compelled to see through his goals. With India’s triumph in the 2024 T20 World Cup, Dravid considers his mission accomplished and is content to step down from the top role to prioritize his family commitments.
Shah disclosed that Dravid expressed his desire to resign due to personal reasons, and consequently, the board respected his decision without pressuring him to prolong his tenure with the team.
“He (Dravid) told me that due to family commitments he wants to quit and we respect his decision. I didn’t force him to extend,” Shah told reporters in Barbados.
“Rahul bhai has served Indian cricket for the past five and half years. He was director of the National Cricket Academy for three years and then for the past two and half years, he served as head coach of Team India,” he added.
Shah emphasized that Rahul Dravid played a crucial role akin to Rohit Sharma, who led the team to victory in the T20 World Cup before announcing his retirement from T20Is.
“Rahul Dravid’s role is as important as Rohit Sharma in this T20 World Cup title triumph. He is a man, who took the team to the 2023 ODI World Cup final and didn’t leave because he wanted to finish the job,” Shah said.
In the upcoming week, a youthful Indian squad under the leadership of Shubman Gill will commence a five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe.
Shah is optimistic that India’s title-winning streak will continue following the end of their 11-year ICC trophy drought. “I would want India to win all the titles. We have the biggest bench strength, only three players from this team are going to Zimbabwe. We can field three teams if the need arises,” he said.
