Rahul Dravid - Once the Wall, now the coach

India’s next gen will be thrilled at the prospect of being guided by Dravid

A week ago, when the BCCI announced that they have instated an Advisory Committee comprising of three great Indian cricketers, everyone was excited and thrilled. Well frankly, who wouldn’t be? Any country would love to have Sachin, Sourav and VVS as their guarding angels. Amidst this frenzied atmosphere, there was only one doubt in everyone’s mind – What about Rahul Dravid? If anyone then shouldn’t it be ‘The Wall’ leading such a committee?

Then the BCCI president Mr Anurag Thakur answered all our queries. Rahul Dravid was named as the coach of both the Indian U-19 as well as India A sides. At that moment, there was huge sigh of relief. When the news settled down and people started analyzing this appointment, they realised that this was a masterstroke by the BCCI. Other than using the expertise of the Fab 4 of the Indian cricket, BCCI is also trying to maintain the interest of their fans.

When these stalwarts started retiring, there were doubts in some circles as to what would happen to the popularity of this game once all of them retire. Even though people were sure that this sport would never run short of supporters in a country like India, what about those quarters of the fraternity who were hardcore Sachin or Dada fans. Or Dravid or Laxman fans for that matter. They might lose interest in the game. So the board saw this as an opportunity to maintain their fan base and also having such influential cricketing minds around wouldnt hurt, would it?

Nobody reads the game better

Apart from being one of the most technically gifted batsmen to ever set foot on a cricketing pitch, he was also an excellent reader of the game. If I were to find an analogue of him in football, it would probably be Xavi Hernandez. If you haven’t heard of him, he is arguably the most coveted midfielder of all time. Also,he is very adept at reading the game of Football. Similar traits are exhibited by Dravid.

He has the potential to be one of the best in the business. He has shown us glimpses of it with the Rajasthan Royals. There was a time when no one was ready to buy him in the IPL. But, the Rajasthan owners did. And they are reaping the benefits of it now. Even though he is just a mentor, he is the mastermind behind RR’s successful campaigns in the last few years.

Along with Paddy Upton, he has created a relaxed environment in their dressing room where people aren’t playing to win, but to enjoy and to learn. They have integrated youngsters, experienced local players, as well as the overseas players into a single unit. The part most notable in his CV though is his ability to train youngsters both technically as well as temperamentally.

He allows them to be themselves and just play and this is what allows them to thrive under pressure with primary examples being Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson. Although Rahane was very well known at the domestic level, it was under Dravid that he flourished and became the core of the Indian Test batting lineup along with Kohli.

So he has potential. He has the skills. And now thankfully, he has the oppportunity. It’s his time to stamp his authority as an administrator. And hopefully, one day we would see him as the coach of the senior side.