Legendary Rahul Dravid will be the coach of senior men’s Indian cricket team during its white-ball tour of Sri Lanka in July. The decision was taken as regular coach Ravi Shastri would be with the Test team in England during the same time. The team for the tour which will include 3 ODIs and as many T20Is is expected to be announced soon.
Rahul Dravid has earlier been the batting consultant of India during their 2014 England tour, also coaching the India A and India U-19 sides later. India’s most prolific No. 3 is currently the head of National Cricket Academy (NCA).
Almost all the young guns in the current Team Indian setup have been coached by Dravid at some point. Prithvi Shaw, one of his many famous students, has recently recalled the experience of being coached by Dravid during the U-19 World Cup in 2018. The opener was the captain of that team which went on to clinch the trophy.
The 21-year-old has said that players were “a little scared of Rahul Dravid” despite him joining them for dinner. Shaw added that Dravid he never forced anyone be like him and instead suggested everyone to stick to their natural game.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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,” Shaw told Cricbuzz.
Prithvi Shaw has not represented India ever since his poor show in both the innings of the pink-ball Test against Australia in Adelaide last year. The Mumbaikar was not included in the Test, ODI or T20I squads in the home series against England.
