One of India’s most legendary cricketers Rahul Dravid, popularly known as ‘The Wall’, who announced his retirement in 2012 after serving the nation for 16 years, entered the role of mentorship in 2014, and since then he has trained many young talents to make them ready for Team India.
Recently, after the former Indian batting star was roped in to travel with the young Indian squad to Sri Lanka as the team’s coach, fans are hoping to see him as the next coach of the senior Indian team. Current head coach Ravi Shastri’s tenure will end with the T20 World Cup, to be held in October-November this year.
Rahul Dravid has already proved himself to be a great mentor, as he helped a couple of Indian Premier League franchises and the India Under-19 squad, making a mark in the art of nurturing young talents.
Two years after international retirement, Rahul Dravid joined Rajasthan Royals as a mentor in 2014-15. Dravid had also played for Rajasthan Royals and led it to finals of Champions League T20 in 2013, and play-offs of Indian Premier League in 2013.
Dravid was called back for national duty by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to coach the India U-19 boys in 2016. India’s junior team played in the World Cup finals under Rahul Dravid’s guidance the same year. Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan and Washington Sundar were the top performers for India in the tournament.
Following this, Dravid was also roped in by the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) to mentor the side for the 2016-17 season. Under Rahul’s mentorship, the Delhi squad finished fifth on the points table.
The unfinished task of winning the World Cup was accomplished by U-19 boys in 2018, as they got the trophy home under the leadership of Prithvi Shaw. Once again Dravid proved his mettle in the coaching role. Shaw, Shubman Gill, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi were the find of the season.
Hence, Dravid has never failed to inspire the budding young talents and in 2019 he accepted the role of Director of Cricket Operations at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. With this move, he has been playing a much broader role in the development of young cricketers of the nation.
