New Delhi: Former captain Rahul Dravid was appointed Wednesday as the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team by the BCCI. This development was expected after Rahul Dravid formally submitted his application. The batting great was convinced to take up the job by the board’s top brass including Sourav Ganguly. Strangely enough, the BCCI did not consult with skipper Virat Kohli while appointing Dravid as the head coach.
Dravid was working as the head of National Cricket Academy (NCA). He has been appointed for a period of two years till the 2023 50-over World Cup in India.
The 47-year-old Dravid is one of the greatest batsmen to have played for India. He scored over 10,000 runs in both Tests and ODIs. He was the only choice for BCCI president Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah. They had called him in Dubai and convinced him to apply for the position. Once Dravid had applied, the BCCI didn’t even need to look at any other application.
“The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Ms Sulakshana Naik and Mr RP Singh unanimously appointed Wednesday Mr Rahul Dravid as the Head Coach of Team India (Senior Men). The former India captain will take charge from the upcoming home series against New Zealand,” the BCCI stated in a media release.
The BCCI had invited applications for the said position October 26 to appoint incumbent Ravi Shastri’s successor, whose term gets over after the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup.
“It is an absolute honour to be appointed as the new head coach of the Indian cricket team. I am really looking forward to this role,” Dravid said.
Dravid also thanked his predecessor Shastri for his role in shaping the current Indian team. “Under Mr Shastri, the team has done very well, and I hope to work with the team to take this forward.”