Former India captain and head coach Rahul Dravid attributed Indian cricket's great strength to the spread of talent beyond big cities, reaching even the most rural areas of the country. Dravid emphasized how the existing system has helped the sport become an "extremely powerful" force in the world.
Dravid, who was instrumental in India's T20 World Cup 2024 victory, stressed the change from previous years when the majority of national team players hailed from major urban areas.
"If you look at Indian cricket today, Indian cricket is extremely strong, it's extremely powerful. One of the big reasons for that is that talent comes from everywhere, from all over the country," Dravid was quoted as saying by India Today, at the 50th anniversary of Mount Joy Cricket Club.
The former Indian coach stated that previous generations of cricketers, such as GR Vishwanath, or even his early days, saw talent emerge predominantly from big cities, forcing smaller-town players to travel for possibilities. In contrast, talent can be found all around the country in cricket.
Reflecting on domestic cricket, Dravid said, "You just look at the standard of the Ranji Trophy... there is no team in the South Zone today that you can walk in and say that you will comfortably beat."
According to Dravid, this demonstrates the increasing competitiveness and equitable distribution of talent. Dravid also lauded the club cricket infrastructure, particularly in Karnataka, for making the sport available to young players throughout the country.
He believes that the key to cultivating talent is to provide general access to good facilities, ensuring that opportunities are not limited to specific cities.
"We need cricket to be egalitarian, we need it to be all over the place," he stated.
Rahul Dravid also recalled his days of club cricket, where he got nostalgic about post-practice sessions involved listening to senior players' cricketing wisdom over a glass of milk and eggs, underscoring the importance of such grassroots cricket for development.
"After the practice, HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) would give us two eggs and one small glass of milk. I would always stay back for that glass of milk and those eggs. Not because I wanted the milk and eggs. "But because I wanted to sit and listen to the likes of BK Kumar or Nandan talking about cricket. And it used to be great fun to listen to them and learn so much from them," said Dravid.
Rahul Dravid recently joined the IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals as their head coach ahead of the IPL 2025 auction.
