India skipper Rohit Sharma said on Tuesday that he had made an attempt to persuade Rahul Dravid to stay and proceed as the head coach but the latter has settled for moving forward.
On Monday, Dravid declared that he will step down as the head coach at the conclusion of the upcoming T20 World Cup after almost three years in charge.
His fifty-one old contract will officially expire later this month, andrefused to re-apply for it
Dravid’s successor is widely considered as former India opener Gautam Gambhir. Whether or not he has applied for the position remains unclear.
“I tried convincing him to stay, but obviously there are a lot of things that he needs to look after as well. But yeah I personally enjoyed my time with him.
“We might say it like this: “I am sure other boys would agree with every single word from me. This was fantastic working next to him and all those things. That actually.” He never said anything when asked about whether his team planned a farewell for him.
Rohit and Dravid have known each other for long time, with the former making his India debut under the player-turned-coach in June 2007.
“He was my first international captain when I made my debut in Ireland. Then I’ve seen him play while I was just coming into the team (for) Test matches when he was captain. And such a big role model for all of us,” said Rohit ahead of India’s World Cup opener against Ireland on Wednesday.”
“Growing up, we watched him play and we know what he has achieved, personally as a player and also what he’s done for the team over the years. Battling out the team from difficult situations and that is what he’s known for,” He stated in reference to ‘The Wall’.
According to Sharma, although India have won no trophy during Rohit-Dravid era so far, their head coach has made an enormous contribution
“He’s shown a lot of great determination throughout his career and that is something that when he came here as a coach, I wanted to learn from him.
“It’s been very fruitful. Other than the big silver (trophy), we won all the major tournaments and series. I’ve enjoyed every bit of it, working with him, deciding what direction the team needs to head.”
“And for him to buy into that thought, obviously makes a huge difference. And he was the first one who came and said, ‘this is what we need to do as a team’. No matter what happens, but at least we’ll give it a good shot at it when he arrived,” added Rohit.
Dravid took over after the 2021 T20 World Cup from Ravi Shastri as the team’s head.
