Dravid appointed India head coach, will take charge for New Zealand home series

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that Rahul Dravid will take over from Ravi Shastri as the new team India head coach.

File image of Rahul Dravid.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that Rahul Dravid will take over from Ravi Shastri as the new team India head coach.

The Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Sulakshana Naik and RP Singh on Wednesday unanimously appointed former India captain Dravid as the head coach and he will take charge from the upcoming home series against New Zealand.

Dravid said, "It is an absolute honour to be appointed as the new Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team and I am really looking forward to this role. Under Shastri, the team has done very well, and I hope to work with the team to take this forward. 

"Having worked closely with most of the boys either at NCA, U19 and India A setup, I know they have the passion and desire to improve every day. There are some marquee multi-team events in the next two years, and I look forward to working with the players and the support staff to achieve our potential."

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The BCCI had invited applications for the said position on October 26 to appoint Shastri’s successor, whose term gets over after the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup.

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said, "The BCCI welcomes Rahul Dravid as the Head Coach of India’s senior men team. Rahul has had an illustrious playing career and is one of the greats of the game. He has also served Indian cricket as Head of National Cricket Academy (NCA) with distinction. Rahul’s effort at the NCA has nurtured several young cricketing talents who have gone on to represent the country at the international stage. I am hopeful that his new stint will take Indian cricket to new heights."

Shastri was appointed head coach in 2017 and under his guidance, India became the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia (2018-19) and followed it with another series win in 2020-21. India was also the first team to win all 5 T20Is in a bilateral series when it blanked New Zealand 5-0. India also won all its seven Test series at home during this time.