Former India women’s team coach WV Raman said he will be surprised if legendary former cricketer Rahul Dravid doesn’t become the head coach of the men’s team in the near future. Dravid, who is presently the head of National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, has travelled to Sri Lanka with the Shikhar Dhawan-led side as the stand-in head coach of the side in the absence of Ravi Shastri. India will take on Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series starting from Sunday (July 18) followed by as many T20Is.
“It (Dravid becoming a full-time coach) is likely to happen. There is no saying as to when it will, but I will be surprised if it doesn’t happen sometime in the (near) future,” Raman told Times of India.
Under Shastri, India has been a force to reckon with across formats and has won several bilateral series and the Asia Cup in 2018. However, the team is yet to clinch a major ICC title under his mentorship. Shastri’s tenure will end after this year’s T20 World Cup in the UAE and he might be replaced by Dravid, who has been backed by many to take over as the next head coach.
Apart from Dravid, Raman also shared his views on Dhawan, who will be captaining the national team for the first time in his career. The left-hander will be hoping to produce impressive performances in the series in order to cement his spot as an opener ahead of the T20 World Cup as he faces intense competition from KL Rahul.
“In case of Shikhar, it is a case of retaining his competitive edge, waiting and watching as to how things pan out. Unlike others, Shikhar needs to be a bit more patient and needs to try and ensure that he makes the best possible use of these matches and put the ball in the selectors’ court.” Raman added.
