Young Indian cricketer Prithvi Shaw recalls the experience of being coached by Rahul Dravid during the U-19 World Cup.
The duo of Prithvi Shaw, who led the side, and Rahul Dravid, who coached the team, combined to help India colts to clinch their fourth overall ICC U-19 World Cup in 2018.
Since then Rahul Dravid has played a major role in shaping the youngsters while Prithvi Shaw has achieved some records and has represented Team India on an international stage.
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In an interaction with Cricbuzz, Prithvi Shaw said that Rahul Dravid always told him to stick to his natural game.
“We toured together with sir (Dravid) before world cup (U-19) also. He never forced any player to be like him. He didn’t change anything in batting. Told me to stick to my natural game. He knew if I play the Powerplay overs, then it’s difficult to get me out,” Prithvi Shaw told Cricbuzz.
Shaw said that Rahul Dravid mostly talked about how to approach a game and always wanted players to enjoy their game and if they repeated the mistakes he would come and tell them.
“He mostly talked about the mental aspect, tactics, and how to approach a game. He never spoke much – just during meetings. Wanted us to enjoy the game. If we are repeating mistakes then only he’ll come and tell you about it,” he said.
Shaw revealed that with Dravid players have to be disciplined and they were scared of him. He added that it was a dream come true for him to sit with a legend like him.
“With Rahul sir, you have to be disciplined. We were a little scared of him. Off the field, he was quite friendly with us, used to join us for dinner, Sitting with a legend like him was a dream come true. Every youngster dreams of that,” he said.
Prithvi Shaw further said that Rahul Dravid knew what to get from then during the tour. He added that it was a proud moment for him when they won the U-19 World Cup.
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“I am sure he’s also gone through the phases of U-19 cricket. So he knew exactly what to get in from us during the tour. Used to speak with each player specifically. It was a dream captaining. A proud moment when we won the world cup. We were actually a really good team,” he concluded.
Both Prithvi Shaw and Rahul Dravid are likely to be seen when Team India travels to Sri Lanka for the white-ball tour. Dravid is likely to coach the side while Prithvi Shaw is expected to be in the squad.
(Cricbuzz inputs)
