Coach Rahul Dravid with R Ashwin after the team won the fifth Test cricket match against England, in Dharamsala, on March 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Rohit Sharma’s captaincy was rather understated vis-à-vis Ben Stokes’ on-the-edge methods, but India head coach Rahul Dravid was delighted to see the players identify themselves with the Mumbaikar’s leadership principles.
Under Rohit, India never made tall claims even once but silently and categorically nullified the visitors’ much-talked-about ‘Bazball’ and grabbed the five-match series 4-1.
“I’m privileged to work with a lovely team. I’m learning from them all the time. Rohit has been fantastic to work with. I think he’s a terrific leader, and the guys gravitate towards him phenomenally, which is fantastic to see,” said Dravid told broadcasters after the match.
Dravid said India’s series win was dotted by several shining moments but acknowledged that the return of Ravichandran Ashwin from a personal emergency underlined the character of this outfit.
“I’d just say Ashwin coming back to the team after what he went through (as the stand-out moment). Ash wanting to come back and contribute to the team… I think, for me, it signified what this team is about and what the character of this team is.
“I think that was just for me, probably the standout moment of the series. It really gladdens your heart as a coach to the kind of environment that that had been created,” said Dravid.
Rahul Dravid giving a momento to Ravichandran Ashwin.
| Photo Credit:
ANI
Ashwin had to leave for Chennai because of a family emergency on the second day of the Rajkot Test, but the veteran off-spinner rejoined the action on the fourth day of the third Test.
There have been talks about the doors of the Indian team being shut now for players like Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer after they defied the BCCI diktat to play in Ranji Trophy.
But Dravid did not buy into that.
“Rohit and I are selecting playing 11. Sometimes even I don’t know who is contracted and who is not. So, no one is out of the mix as far as we are concerned,” Dravid later said in the post-match press conference.
Kuldeep Yadav twinkled radiantly with his left-arm wrist spin besides chipping in with some handy runs lower down the order.
Dravid was chuffed to see the wholesome improvement in Kuldeep.
“It’s been tough on Kuldeep Yadav. He’s been bowling at a time when two legends (Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja) are playing for the team. He brings the X-Factor to the team. He has also worked hard on his batting which has been a bonus,” said the former Indian captain.
India all-rounder Shardul Thakur recently urged the bigwigs to look into the hectic Ranji Trophy schedule, which he said has been putting a lot of pressure on the players.
Taking a serious note of the call, Dravid the players’ views should be considered sooner than later.
“We need to hear the players. They are the ones putting bodies on the line. If they are saying (about a busy schedule), we need to see how to manage the domestic schedule better,” he added.