Former India head coach Rahul Dravid called it a privilege and pleasure to be associated with a captain like Rohit Sharma and the Indian team during his tenure. Dravid’s time as Indian team head coach came to an end with Men in Blue winning the T20 World Cup 2024 in June recently.
India defeated South Africa by seven runs in the summit showdown in Barbados on June 29, winning the T20 World Cup for the second time in 17 years.
Dravid, who began his tenure as head coach in November 2021, spoke openly about his experience with the Indian squad and had high comments for Indian skipper Rohit Sharma.
Rohit, like Dravid, began his tenure as India's full-time captain in November 2021 and went on to become the third Indian skipper to win an ICC trophy. Aside from that, he led India to the finals of the ICC World Cup and the ICC World Test Championship in 2023.
Dravid described Rohit as a terrific leader and stated that working with him was an honor. He also commended other senior players, including Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and R Ashwin, for their work ethic.
“I can’t completely take all the credit. I believe the teams are led by a group of senior players, led by the captain, so I think… It was a privilege to work with Rohit in these two and a half years. He was a fantastic leader. People really gravitate towards him. I think that makes a lot of difference.
There are a lot of other senior players as well. Whether it was Virat (Kohli), Bumrah, or Ashwin in Test cricket that we played, so many of them,” Dravid said in an interview with Star Sports.
Dravid, who also served as India's captain during his playing days, said Indian players are very humble about their preparation, and that’s what makes them superstars.
“So many people sometimes think that they have big egos and are, you know, very difficult to manage, but actually I think it’s just the opposite. You know a lot of these superstars are actually very humble about their preparation; they’re humble about their work ethic, and that is why they are superstars.
It was a privilege and a pleasure to work with some of these guys, and I’m happy we were able to create a good environment, but a lot of the credit must go to the captain and the senior people who, to be honest, actually drive a team," he added.
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