Crew India’s outgoing coach Rahul Dravid in a candid interview with BCCI.television has revealed his teaching philosophy, why outcomes are secondary to him and the connection he has cast with the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli throughout his two-and-a-half years tenure as coach.
“As a coach on the finish of the day my job is to assist the captain ship his imaginative and prescient, his philosophy of how he needs the crew to play,” says Dravid.
“I don’t actually like speaking extra about outcomes. Sure outcomes are essential. I’m in a enterprise that runs on outcomes.
Rahul Dravid’s first main title as India head coach got here in his ultimate task on the T20 World Cup. (PTI)
“I believe outcomes are the issue of many issues. When you find yourself continually rotating gamers and the sort of variety of gamers you’ll have to play despite that the sort of outcomes we received in these previous months have given me extra satisfaction,” he says.
On Rohit and Kohli
Rahul Dravid says he has cherished working with Rohit Sharma and loved watching him develop as a participant first and now as a frontrunner.
“I’ve actually loved working with Rohit. He’s somebody I knew as a younger boy. Simply to see him develop as an individual, develop as a frontrunner in Indian cricket. He’s somebody who is ready to contribute to the crew within the final ten or twelve years, each as a participant and now as a frontrunner. It has been an actual tribute to him and the trouble he has put within the time he has put in. I actually get pleasure from attending to know him as an individual as properly,” says Dravid.
IND VS ENG: Indian crew head coach Rahul Dravid, proper, speaks to captain Rohit Sharma in the course of the ICC T20 World Cup event. (AP Picture)
On his bond with Virat Kohli, Dravid says: “I solely had an opportunity to work with him in a few sequence, in a few Check matches when he was the captain. I get to know him as properly. His need to enhance, his need to get higher is fascinating to observe.”
Dravid on his teaching philosophy
Rahul Dravid additionally opened up about his philosophy as a coach and why he believes that teaching is extra about making a protected surroundings slightly than chasing the outcomes.
“I prefer to consider that teaching is not only about teaching cricket. That is about constructing connections with the individuals and creating proper surroundings that enables for achievement. I really feel that I’m part of the crew whose duty is to create the proper skilled, protected, safe surroundings that actually doesn’t have worry of failure as such however its difficult sufficient to push individuals. That’s all the time been my endeavour to try to create that environment,” he says.
“I’m somebody who likes continuity in life. I don’t like chopping and altering too many issues as a result of I believe that creates loads of instability and doesn’t create an excellent surroundings.
Dravid took over because the India head coach in November 2021. His preliminary contract with the nationwide facet had come to an finish after the 2023 ODI World Cup, and was later prolonged till the 2024 T20 World Cup. (Reuters)
“The imaginative and prescient in fact is to win a cricket recreation. You attempt to win as a lot as you may. However I all the time look again to the truth that what’s it that results in the profitable? How do you win extra video games? What’s the course of required to win extra video games? For me the imaginative and prescient was to get that course of proper. Ticking all these packing containers. How do you problem the gamers sufficient? How do you observe sufficient, how do you properly put together tactically and technically? Are we supporting the gamers in the proper method? These are the issues I needed to tick earlier than occurring to the profitable. Hopefully, if we’d do most of this stuff, profitable will maintain itself.”
Covid and its influence on Indian cricket
Dravid says the post-COVID period the cricketing calendars had been packed but it surely was a blessing in disguise because it allowed him to present alternative to many younger abilities and that’s why India now can type two squads, who can play in two completely different continents.
“One of many issues that we actually needed to handle in my early a part of teaching tenure right here with India was … we’re simply popping out of the Covid. The voice that got here out from the COVID was that there have been too many restrictions for gamers. We actually needed to handle their workload by way of all three completely different codecs. There have been few accidents. We had 5 – 6 captains within the first eight or ten months of me being right here. It’s not one thing that I thought of but it surely type of organically occurred,” he says.
Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid have been accused of doctoring the pitch for the ODI World Cup ultimate in opposition to Australia by Mohammed Kaif. (PTI)
“I believe the opposite factor that occurred and presently which is going on is that on account of COVID we needed to play too many sequence and cram in rather a lot cricket. There have been instances we truly had two groups taking part in in numerous components of the world.
“And it so occurred that within the final two-and-half years particularly in white-ball cricket we’re in a position to give alternatives to loads of younger individuals.
“I used to be glad to see how rapidly they tailored to the worldwide cricket and the sort of performances loads of these younger boys out in as quickly as they got here. I believe that’s an actual tribute to the system as properly.
“A few of them developed and stayed within the crew for longer, a few of them had been there within the crew as a result of the seniors had been injured. They are going to get their possibilities.
“The toughest factor is that there are such a lot of good younger gamers and to determine which ones will play all of the three codecs often. It is among the hardest selections I needed to make,” he says.