Rahul Dravid can be extremely humorous when he is in the right mood. Last night at an event, he humorously answered a question about which actor would feature him in his biographical movie. “I will act it myself if they pay me well,” joked the cricket great.
In a hilarious reference to himself as ‘jobless’ on several occasions, including requests for suggestions about what job he could do next, Dravid jokingly referred to stepping down as head coach of the Indian national team after leading Rohit Sharma’s side to victory in the T20 World Cup held in West Indies in June this year. “My wife (Vijeta) wants me to be at home and take care of my boys,” Dravid added.
Dravid admitted that sometimes winning tournaments needs not only good luck but also some bit luck too because it plays a major role during prominent matches.
To illustrate this point, Dravid spoke about two finals while Team India head coach between 2021 and 2023—one played out at Ahmedabad and another hosted by Barbados. The first was the 2023 World Cup final on Nov 19 where Travis Head withstood a probing examination from Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami’s new-ball spells before serving up his heart-wrenching knock of 137 runs.
“I had time to think…I mean sometimes you have got to do everything right but there is also that element of luck,” revealed Dravid.
“On November 19th…we beat Travis Head’s bat 15 times — he didn’t touch a single ball. Sometimes things go your way, but you have to stick to the process,” commented Dravid who was awarded Ceat Cricket Rating’s Lifetime Achievement honour.
Dravid also mentioned India’s stunning comeback against South Africa in T20 World Cup final on June 29 in Barbados. Although South Africa required only thirty runs off five overs India managed to defend 176/7, with Suryakumar Yadav’s sensational catch on the rope at long-off swaying the game in India’s favor.
“Sometimes at the end of the day you need a little bit of luck. (Against South Africa in T20WC final)… 30 balls to go, 30 runs to go. Incredible execution incredible calmness by Rohit. We didn’t think about what we were supposed to do, but all we wanted was someone who could keep his foot within one inch of a line. Sometimes (it is) the skill,” recall Dravid while Suryakumar Yadav took that brilliant catch on the long-off boundary to dismiss David Miller. It tipped an even contest decisively India’s way.
In terms of his tenure as head coach, Dravid was proud of India reaching their first ever World Cup Final in three decades in 2023, winning nine consecutive matches along the way before losing out to Australia for a title there. “To travel across the country and witness the passion of the fans…just as an experience as a coach was phenomenal” he said.
Losing out in world cups finals didn’t deter Dravid from attributing India’s triumphs in T20 World Cups since then down to just sticking with same methods and energy. “We needed to create the same vibe, the same team atmosphere…and hope for a little bit of luck on the day,” explained Dravid who turned fifty-one during this interview. The former Indian captain had high praise for India’s production line of elite cricketers.
In 2011-2012 I left. “They were among the new players who carried on that legacy. Our success rates over the last twelve years in all three formats of cricket are amazing, since we handed over. It has been a very natural thing. In many ratings, you can easily figure out that we are always either one or two… yes, we have never missed being there with others,” he explain.
“I am sure this generation is going to carry that on led by people like Rohit and Surya and more guys coming forward in every format of the game,” he added.
