As the teams get their final preparations before the T20I game India And South Africa, Team India head coach Rahul Dravid will be looking to the youngsters in the unit to establish himself and gain confidence through some solid performances on home soil.
‘The Wall’ is a cricketing institution in itself, as the lucky few who have had the pleasure of watching him at the crease can attest to his never-ending quest for perfection.
There was an interview that went viral long before the age of social media and smart devices. This was one that featured Rahul Dravid’s wife Vijeta Pendharkar, as she shed some light on his absolute focus and hunger for perfection, or at least, about his presumption.
Mrs Dravid mentioned something about how she used to pack the Indian legend’s belongings for foreign tours and how she used to spin her wardrobe without complaint, adding at least the clothes that were made for her. Were. in many possible permutations.
But, the same man who could survive in a foreign land by living out of a suitcase could not put his mind at peace if he were to use Willow.
An extra ounce of weight here or a bit of balance issue there and it was a strict no-go for arguably the greatest Test cricketer of all time. He will ensure that it was fixed then and there before proceeding.
The focus of ‘Jamie’ is such that he takes in even the smallest detail as he thinks of the best possible way to navigate a situation.
Dravid was the coach of the U19 Indian team, which scored two stellar runs in back to back Junior World Cups. For the first time in 2016, under Ishan Kishan’s leadership, India made it to the final, losing to an outfit from West Indies on the big occasion.
But, U19 . second attempt in World The Cup trophy was even more coveted in 2018 under the captaincy of Prithvi Shaw. India remained completely unbeaten on the final day with Australia winning the title in a one-sided encounter.
The players who were part of the promising U19 units that Dravid managed to build are now stars like Kishan, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill, Shivam Mavi and so on.
There is a lot of talent in the new looking Indian team. And to make the best out of the embarrassment of wealth, the nation needs a manager under whose watchful eye the team can begin to build the foundation for years to come.
Dravid faces challenges such as the heavy burden of carrying forward the illustrious legacy of Ravi Shastri, who managed to take Indian cricket to new heights in the longest format of the game during his successful tenure as head coach.
The Karnataka man needs to forge a healthy relationship with the newly appointed captain of the country’s favorite team, Rohit Sharma, with venues named in his honor in his hometown. KL Rahul was supposed to lead the side in the home tour against South Africa in Sharma’s absence but suffered an injury and was ruled out just before the start of the series. Pant, who has worked with Dravid, will be the captain for the upcoming matches.
With the calendar looking full for the Indian team and matches and tours fast approaching, Dravid will try to keep the freshness about the team while ensuring the fitness of the team members.
But, the biggest milestone in the mind of the Indian head coach will probably be the challenge of lifting the ICC trophies as he looks to break the hoodoo while at the helm of the national team.
The squad selected to represent the nation in the upcoming Test has some exciting names and it would not be wrong to say that every player in the current squad must have been inspired by Dravid’s contribution to Indian cricket.
Training under him is a dream come true for most of these players, who would be keen to put a smile on the head coach’s calm face at the end of the series.
T20I team – KL Rahul (Capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(VC) (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Y Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, R Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
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