‘Pleased for Dravid’

The Caribbean may have seen two of the many finest innings played by Rahul Dravidmdashin the Kingston Test of the 200506 series Eightyone out of 200 in Indiarsquos first innings and 68 out of 171 in the second dig helped the visitors win by 49 runs for Indiarsquos first series win in the West Indies since 1971Indiarsquos then captain and now outgoing head coach was adjudged man of the match and series But thatrsquos the last cricketplaying joy he extracted from his travels to the West Indies as captain For India were knocked out of the 2007 World Cup in the first round and captain Dravid along with coach Greg Chappell faced relentless heat over the exitTest victory in JorsquoburgDravid and Chappell worked well together no matter how the pundits viewed the Chappell era They were in charge when India won its firstever Test match in South AfricamdashJohannesburg in 2006 only to end up on the losing side in the series by the end of the third Test at Cape Town Earlier they witnessed the Test victory in the Caribbean in 200506 In ODI cricket the DravidChappell combo worked for eight consecutive ODI victories in the same seasonAlso ReadT20 World Cup 2024 It is a team effort overall Kuldeep Yadavs coach hails Team IndiaThen coach Greg Chappell and skipper Rahul Dravid on the eve of Indiarsquos ODI World Cup match against Bermuda at Queenrsquos Park Oval in March 2007 PicAFPChappell on Sunday was delighted over Indiarsquos T20 World Cup triumph and Dravidrsquos success in particular ldquoCongratulations to India on winning the T20 World Cup I am particularly pleased for Rahul for being part of the victoryrdquo Chappell told midday from SydneyA few years ago Dravid found satisfaction in heading the National Cricket Academy before accepting an offer to coach the U19 team World Cup which triumphed in New Zealand in 2018 His decision to work with the younger generation drew applause and even appeared in a Marathi film called Aamhi Doghi where Ram played by Bhushan Pradhan tells Savitri Priya Bapat in their first meeting that he idolises Dravid and points out how the former India captain is happy helping young cricketers emergeBack to real life When Dravid took over as head coach in November 2021 some of his supporters wondered why he wanted to get his hands dirty He just had to see what happened to his Karnataka teammate Anil Kumble who exited when Virat Kohli was captain An insider told me that it was Rohit Sharma who more than just urged Dravid to enter the fold He obliged The combo worked came very close to winning the ODI World Cup last year and grabbed the T20 silverware on SaturdayIndiarsquos interests in mindDoubtless Dravid had Indiarsquos interests in mind while accepting the job and itrsquos not that he was short of career options Apart from coaching and mentoring there was also television commentary and studio work on the buffet spread ldquoHis passion for Indian cricket has always been plain to see so for him to have been an integral part of the planning for this win must be particularly satisfying for himrdquo said ChappellDravid and Chappell share an irony Both have not been part of a World Cupwinning team as players Chappell figured in the 1975 final which the West Indies won wasnrsquot considered along with his World Series Cricket Australia teammates in 1979 and was not available for the 1983 edition Dravid missed out on a place in the 1996 team and was a key member in the 1999 2003 and 2007 squadsldquoYou know as a player I was not lucky enough to win a trophy but I tried my best whenever I played and it happens itrsquos part of sportsrdquo Dravid told reporters in Barbados on Saturday ldquoIt is a wonderful way for him to finish his time with the teamrdquo remarked Chappell who ended his Test career with a century against Pakistan in 198384 He also began his international career with a hundred on debut against England in 197071 Farewell Rahul Sharad Dravid but drop in again to bring in your trademark dignity to a job