Rahul Dravid says he gave India U-19 enough space to enjoy

Dravid is very strict in terms of discipline.

Rahul Dravid | GETTY

Former India cricketer Rahul Dravid finally saw his U19 team lifting the World Cup title. India U-19 were outstanding in all aspects and a much deserving team to win the U-19 World Cup.

Dravid was a happy man seeing his players clinching the victory. "Happy for the 15 boys as they get to wear a World Cup winner's medal." Asked about his experience when he was playing U-19 cricket, Dravid said, "Can't compare generations. There was no U-19 World Cup when I was a junior cricketer. Facilities for young players today are better than what I had when I first played for India."

The 45-year-old thinks India played their best game in the semi-final and not final. "We didn't play our number one game in the final. We probably did that in the semi-final."

"Once the boys are good enough, they need to go and play men's cricket," added Dravid, speaking about the future of some of these promising U-19 players.

Dravid also talked about India vs Pakistan semifinal match, "Process and planning is the same for every match, including the one against Pakistan. The boys handled the pressure well during the Pakistan match. I was happy to see that."

The performance of the Indian U-19 team was better than any other side in the tournament which had even impressed the Pakistani coach. 

"Pakistan coach told me that the Indian team had set the benchmark at the tournament," said the former India captain and also went on to add, "As a coach you are dependent on the performance of the players."

When Dravid is your coach, you better stay disciplined. But Rahul said he gave his players enough space to enjoy.

"We had loose curfews for the boys. That's fine, they are teenagers. I have been a teenager too," Dravid signed off.

 
 

By Sihyeu Singh - 05 Feb, 2018

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