'I saw him hug the cup': Ravichandran Ashwin reflects on exact moment when Rahul Dravid had shot at redemption

The dust is yet to settle down on India’s historic T20 World Cup win in the West Indies as the fans are still celebrating the victory overSouth Africa in the final. While the moment goes down in the history books, it also marksthe end of some illustrious careers in Indian cricket. Amongst those are Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma who dropped curtains on their T20 careers. However, it was coach Rahul Dravid who had the last laugh having won the T20 World Cup in the same nation where he had once been outclassed in a humiliating fashion in the ODI World Cup as captain.

Ashwin reflects on Rahul Dravid’s redemption moment

Reflecting on the moment was Ravichandran Ashwin, who brought back the memories from 2007 when India were eliminated from the group stage of the ODI World Cup in the West Indies. Dravid, who held the T20 World Cup tightly after last month’s win was the center of criticismwhen India faced the humiliation. Ashwin described Dravid’s moment as the shot at redemptionwhich also helped India end their 17-year wait for the T20 World Cup.

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"My moment was when Virat Kohli called Rahul Dravid and gave him the cup. I saw him hug the cup and cry. Rahul Dravid screamed and cried. I saw him enjoy it. I felt that a lot. I want to talk about a person who is sacred. In 2007, during the 50-over World Cup, India got knocked out. Rahul Dravid was the captain at that time. He didn't captain the one-day side after that. He has been with the Indian team. If something doesn't go well, if the Indian team goes out or loses a match, immediately, they ask what Rahul Dravid is doing," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

The win in the West Indies also saw the end of Dravid’s near three-year spell as the head coach of Indian national side. He goes down in the folklore of Indian cricket as one of the greatest coaches having led the side to the T20 World Cup glory and helping them reach the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) and the ODI World Cup final in 2019 where the Men in Blue lost only one match.