India head coach Rahul Dravid has expressed his reservations over ‘Do it for Dravid’ campaign ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024 final, saying that it’s against his values.
Notably, Dravid’s tenure with the Indian team is set to end after the ongoing T20 World Cup. Hence, a campaign is being run on social media, which states that the Men in Blue must give a fitting farewell to the legend by winning the coveted ICC trophy.
Under Dravid’s guidance, India played two ICC finals last year but failed to lift the trophy. Rohit Sharma’s men lost to Australia in the WTC final and the ODI World Cup final.
Team India will get another chance to end their long-standing ICC trophy drought when they face South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2024 final in Barbados on Saturday (June 29).
“It’s totally against who I am as a person and it’s totally against my values. You know, I don't really believe in this 'Do it for somebody'. I love that quote about somebody asking somebody else, 'Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?' and he says 'I want to climb Mount Everest because it's there. Why do we want to win this World Cup? because it's there,” said Dravid in a video shared by Star Sports.
“It's not for anyone, it's not for anybody, it's just there to win. I just want to play good cricket and yeah, doing it for someone is totally against who I am as a person and what I believe in so I don't want to talk about it and discuss it. If you can get that campaign removed, I will appreciate it,” he added.
India outclassed England by 68 runs in the last-four clash in Guyana on Thursday (June 27) to enter the T20 World Cup 2024 final.
In the semi-final, India lost Virat Kohli (9) and Rishabh Pant (4) early. However, skipper Rohit Sharma (57 off 39) formed a solid partnership with Suryakumar Yadav (47 off 36) worth 73 runs in 50 balls to put India back on track.
Later on, Hardik Pandya (23 off 13) and Ravindra Jadeja (17* off 9) played crucial cameos to propel the team a highly challenging 171/7 on a slow pitch.
In reply, England’s innings folded for a paltry 103 in 16.4 overs. It was a listless batting display from the defending champions as no one managed to touch the 30-run mark.
The duo of Akshar Patel (3-23) and Kuldeep Yadav (3-19) spun a web around the English batters, claiming three wickets each. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah also returned with a couple of scalps in his 2.4 overs.
