(AP Photo)
Batting legend Rahul Dravid concluded his tenure as India’s head coach on a triumphant note, leading the team to a successful ICC Men’s T20 World Cup campaign earlier this year.
Renowned for his composed demeanor, Dravid exuberantly celebrated the victory with the World Cup trophy. His animated celebrations, captured in viral photos and videos, showed even the Indian players reveling in the rare, joyous occasion.
Dravid mentioned that the celebration wasn’t planned; it was simply a spontaneous expression of his genuine happiness for the team and the support staff. He felt it was a moment of well-deserved recognition for all the hard work that had been put in behind the scenes.
“It just comes out. You do not plan these things,” Dravid said during an interview with Star Sports. “You do not think about these things. Most times, I try to keep my emotions in check as a coach. You are expected to do that. To be honest, I felt really happy for the team. I felt happy for all the boys, for the support staff, and so many people who had worked hard along with me.”
Dravid reflected on how the team narrowly missed out on winning two World Cup titles—the 2023 World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup—within a few months during his time as head coach.
“Not only in that tournament. I had been around for two and a half to three years. And we had come close a number of times: the semi-finals of the last T20 World Cup in Australia [in 2022], the finals of the World Test Championship, and the 50-over World Cup in India,” Dravid said.
“And we were just not able to cross the line at the critical moment We were playing good cricket, we were playing strength to strength. But even in those situations, you need a bit of luck, a bit of destiny to go your way and I think that was with us. In some other tournaments, unfortunately, it was not with us. A lot of that was that happiness and relief coming out,” he added.
Reports suggest that Dravid could become the new head coach of the Rajasthan Royals for the upcoming Indian Premier League season.
