They were completely awestruck by Dravid’s persona.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) stars and the uncapped trio of Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Rana, and Chetan Sakariya are completely awestruck with the presence of the legendary Indian batsman Rahul Dravid as their coach in Sri Lanka for the upcoming limited-over series.
Padikkal, Rana, and Sakariya are eager to learn about the game from Dravid and imbibe his mental strength and patience during the upcoming white-ball series comprising three ODIs and as many as T20Is in Sri Lanka starting on July 18 in Colombo.
The 21-year-old Karnataka batsman recalled the meeting with Dravid when he met him for the first time during the sports day event in school, saying he has always been awestruck by his down-to-earth nature.
Speaking on Star Sports, Padikkal recalled: “Being from the same school, the first time I actually met him was in one of our sports day events, where I had to present him with a bouquet – that is when I spoke to him for the first time.”
The left-hander continued, “I have always been awestruck by how incredibly calm and gentle a human being he is. To have achieved so much in cricket and to be so down-to-earth, humble, and kind towards everyone is incredible to watch.”
Padikkal hopes to learn a lot of things from Dravid on the Sri Lanka tour. He added, “To have him (Dravid) as our coach, you couldn't ask for anything more, and to have a mentor like him beside you, it's just a great feeling, and hopefully, I can pick up a lot of things from him.”
Meanwhile, Rana said it will be a big achievement for him if he manages to bring even one percent of the patience Dravid has within him as he is excited to play under the guidance of the former captain.
Rana added, “I have heard that Rahul Dravid as a coach is similar to Rahul Dravid as a player. I wish I could bring even one percent of the patience he has within me; it will be a big achievement for me.”
On the other hand, Sakariya said: “I would want to learn how he was so determined when the opposing teams like Australia and England played dominant cricket.”
He signed off by saying, “I want to understand how he troubled them and how he could achieve so much with sheer determination. I want to learn and understand the process which goes behind that mindset.”
(With PTI Inputs)