As the members of India’s T20 World Cup-winning team took centre stage at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday evening amid huge cheers from the spectators, Rahul Dravid stood in one corner, applauding his boys for their iconic achievement.
This, after all, was his last assignment as the head coach of the Indian team and the emotions were showing. His voice choked as he took the stage later to address the crowd, and made no hesitation in admitting that he will miss working with this ‘fantastic bunch’ of boys and the seasoned support staff.
“This is a fantastic note to sign off on,” Dravid said. “I am going to miss all this love. What we have been seeing today and what I have heard since the win shows how India makes cricket brilliant…”
When he took over as the head coach, back in 2021, Indian cricket needed a direction with Virat Kohli already quitting as white-ball captain. But he rebuilt with captain Rohit Sharma, and the rest - as they say - is history. “These boys are like family. The amount of work these boys have done (is incredible) and they are constantly looking to get better.
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As coach and support staff, we couldn’t have asked for anything more. We are privileged to have been able to coach this team,” Dravid said.
After losing the final of the ODI World Cup in November 2023, Dravid wasn’t sure if he would continue as the head coach, but a phone call from Rohit made him change his mind. “Rohit called and said, ‘Rahul, let’s have another crack!” Dravid said with a smile, and the decision paid off as seven months later, the duo turned things around making India the T20 world champion!
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