Cricket Buzz Today: Rahul Dravid, the 51-year-old head coach of the Indian cricket team, has announced that the ongoing ICC men’s T20 World Cup will be his last assignment. He has affirmed that he will not apply for the position of head coach of the Indian National Team, recently advertised by the BCCI a month ago.
Personal life
Dravid got married to Vijeta Pindarkhar on 4th May 2003. Vijeta is a surgeon doctor. The couple belongs to the Brahman community. They have two kids, Samlt and Anway.
Dravid’s press talk
“It is going to be the last one that I am in charge of,” Dravid said ahead of India’s first game against Ireland in New York. “Yeah, just considering, unfortunately, the kind of schedules and where I find myself at this stage in my life, I don’t think I’ll be able to re-apply. So yeah, obviously it’ll be my last one. But having said that, it’s (the significance of the tournament is) no different for me.”
Coaching career of Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid took charge as a coach from Ravi Shastri in November 2021 after the ICC T20 World Cup came to a close in Dubai. Since then Dravid has supervised the T20 World Cup 2022, the World Test Championship Final 2023, and the ODI World Cup 2023.
The ODI World Cup 2023 was supposed to be his last assignment as Head coach, but the BCCI requested him to continue and he yielded.
Rahul Dravid’s achievements as a head coach
Dravid has a superb record as a head coach. Under Dravid’s guidance, India won 10 out of 14 ODI series, 14 out of 17 T20I series, and 6 out of 8 test series.
Rahul Dravid’s replacement
After Dravid announces his retirement, it is speculated that Gautam Gambhir might replace him as the head coach.
Recently Gambhir guided Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL trophy. A reporter asked Gambhir if he was ready to take Rahul’s spot, and he replied it would be an honour to coach the Indian team.
He added “I would love to coach the Indian team. There is no bigger honour. You are representing 140 crore Indians and more across the globe as well, and when you represent India, how can it get bigger than that? It is not me that will help India win the World Cup, it is 140 crore Indians who will help India win the World Cup,”
However, it is yet to be confirmed if Gambhir has applied for the head coach or not, the due date for which was 27th May.