Rahul Dravid to be next India coach: A look at The Wall’s coaching record

Ex-India player Rahul Dravid, who retired from international cricket almost 10 years ago, has agreed to step up and take over as the head coach of the national team, news agency PTI reported, quoting sources. 

Current Indian coach Ravi Shastri’s term comes to an end after the upcoming T20 World Cup, which will be taking place in the United Arab Emirates.

“Yes, Rahul has agreed to coach the Indian team till the 2023 World Cup. Initially, he was reluctant but it is understood that president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah had a meeting with Rahul on the sidelines of the IPL final where they were able to convince him,” a BCCI official, anonymous, told PTI. 

The news of Dravid agreeing to take on the top job received a nod of approval from the likes of MSK Prasad,  the chief selector of the Indian Cricket Team between 2016 and 2020, who referred to Dravid as the “best option” to replace Ravi Shastri.

While Dravid’s heroics as a batsman are widely known, let us shed some light on his career in leadership positions so far.

Mentor of the Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils

Rahul Dravid mentored the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League after being a part of the team as a player during early years of the league.

Also Read | Ex-chief selector MSK Prasad thinks Dravid best choice for Team India coach

Under Dravid’s mentorship, Rajasthan Royals finished the 2014 season placed fifth on the table and followed up with an even better result a year after, finishing third in 2015.

After Rajasthan Royals, Dravid also mentored the Delhi Daredevils in 2016 and 2017 before ending his association with the side and committing himself to talent scouting for India A and the U-19 squad.

Head coach of India A and U-19 teams

Under Dravid’s leadership Prithvi Shaw lifted the U-19 World Cup for India in 2018 along with Shubman Gill, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi as the star performers of the tournament.

Following World Cup glory, Dravid was appointed as the Director of Cricket Operations at the National Cricket Academy in 2019, where he helped scout and develop young cricketers in the country.

Head coach India for Sri Lanka tour

Earlier in 2021, Rahul Dravid was handed the command of an Indian unit led by Shikhar Dhawan for limited overs cricket in Sri Lanka, while another Indian side led by Shastri and Virat Kohli landed in England for the World Test Championship.

While Dravid’s India squad won the ODI series, they fell short of a series win in the T20s.

As a player, Dravid has over 24,000 runs under his name in international cricket. 

In IPL, Dravid capped 89 matches, scoring 2174 runs at a strike-rate of 115.5.