Coach Dravid has it all to do for this Indian Team

I was in the commentary box in Dubai at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup when news came in that Rahul Dravid had formally been appointed Head Coach of the Indian cricket team.

Sir Clive Lloyd, one of the greatest captains the sport has seen, was on the mic with me at the time. Soon after I had finished reading out Dravid’s quote, Sir Clive, now 77, burst out in excitement:

“Rahul Dravid will be a very successful head coach for India. Someone who has scored 13,000 Test runs will have the respect in the dressing room to tell anyone where they are going wrong. His personality is such that he will not want the limelight and yet get the job done. Wish the West Indies had someone like him to help the national team.”

There are huge expectations from Rahul Dravid from all around the cricket world. From suggesting “India appoints the wall to rebuild” to making the point that the Dravid era will be more process driven, there has already been a lot of talk on what Rahul brings to the table.

Why is he the man for the job at the moment? Is he really the best choice, for not always do great cricketers make great coaches? Can he translate his success at the age group level to the senior team and can he do so quickly?

"When you play team sport you need to do the not so glamourous things" - Rahul Dravid

And from what we have seen in his first series as coach, he clearly has his task cut out. A Test series that India should have won to now losing a white ball series, Dravid will soon have to redraw things at the top and make some hard choices. The Virat Kohli saga hasn’t helped, and it is now imperative that Dravid takes some key decisions going forward in trying to get Indian cricket back on track.

Take the case of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar in ODI cricket, for example. Kumar has been an ardent servant of the Indian game and is one who has given it his all in India colours for a decade now.

However, be it in the world T-20 in Dubai where Mohammed Rizwan had attacked him from ball one or Quinton De Kock in South Africa, the 31-year-old isn’t able to stem the flow of runs anymore.

Having lost pace and swing, he is now the weak link at the top of the Indian attack and is, in fact, putting more pressure on Jasprit Bumrah. With Siraj and Deepak Chahar waiting in the wings, it will be unfair to look beyond them and keep going back to Kumar. The same is perhaps applicable for Ajinkya Rahane in Test cricket with Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari waiting in the wings.

Each one of these is a harsh call. But that’s what it is all about if you want to fashion a champion side and that’s what Dravid is now expected to do. Move away from sentiment and past record and create a side that will win key series and world cups, and in doing so, play a brand of cricket that will entertain fans back home.

While there are no easy answers to any of these questions, a deep dive into Rahul’s philosophy does leave us with some pointers.

“When you play team sport you need to do the not so glamourous things to be able to make a difference. You are the one responsible for the environment around you and it is important you do the things that not many will want to do. That’s why it’s a team,” Rahul had said to me some time ago when I had asked him how he looks back at his stint as wicket-keeper for India.

Now he will have to do them again. Speak to men who have all accomplished a lot for India. Take them into confidence and get young men into the side. It is not easy being Rahul Dravid but then that’s why he is who he is. For him it will always be Indian cricket that’s priority.