Team India achieved one of their biggest overseas series wins in Test cricket when they took down the Australian side in their own backyard. While the senior players in the side played their role and stood up whenever the team needed them, the youngsters weren't far away.
Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, T Natarajan, Shubman Gill, and Washington Sundar, all made their Test debuts in Australia and each of them had substantial contributions to the successful series. All of these cricketers had played for either India U19 or India A under the guidance of former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid.
Dravid has been instrumental in shaping their careers on and off the field. While his tenure as the coach of the India A and U19 teams bore fruits in form of international cricket ready youngsters, he now heads the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, where the injured players undergo their rehabilitation and fitness tests.
The gentleman as he is, Dravid once again shied away from taking the credit for his boys' success in Australia. While the whole of India and those involved in Indian cricket praised the former India captain for grooming these cricketers, however, Dravid denied any credit for the same.
Rahul Dravid replied to the Indian Express on the topic of taking credit saying, "Haha, unnecessary credit, the boys deserve all the praise."
Former national selector Jatin Paranjape revealed, "Before such tours (India A and India U19), the support staff of the Indian team, A team, U-19 team, selectors, and Dravid discuss which bucket of players we want to concentrate on. The performances in the Ranji Trophy matter in the selection of the A-team. Mayank Agarwal and Vihari were picked from there."
"The A teams have a great guy like Dravid working with them, from where they go to someone as good as Shastri in the national team. It’s a seamless transition," he added.
"He (Dravid) took out winning and losing from these A and U-19 games. He made it clear that it’s about exposure, giving a chance to all kids over a tour. So everyone knew that they would be getting chances, and could improve their games," former India opener WV Raman said.
(With inputs from Indian Express)
