‘I enjoyed working with Rohit as a person and captain’, admits former coach Rahul Dravid

Former India coach Rahul Dravid shared his thoughts on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and his coaching stint with the senior men’s team that recently won their second T20 World Cup in the Americas. During his contract that expiredlast month, Dravid said he enjoyed working with Rohit as the captain and more so for getting to know him better as a person.

Following the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE, Dravid and Rohit were appointed as the head coach and captain, respectively. This pair did wonders for the team, guiding them to three knockout matches in ICC tournaments since, but finally put their hands on the trophy this time. Speaking on his experience of working with Rohit, Dravid said,

“I have really enjoyed working with Rohit. He is someone I knew as a young boy. Just to see him grow as a person, grow as a leader in Indian cricket.

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"He is someone who is able to contribute to the team in the last ten or twelve years, both as a player and now as a leader. It has been a real tribute to him and the effort he has put in. I really enjoy getting to know him as a person as well,” the former India coach noted.

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Meanwhile, having played alongside another veteran, Virat Kohli and getting to coach him later, Dravid said Virat’s hunger and desire to get better keeps him ahead of everyone in the game.

“I only had a chance to work with him in a couple of series, in a couple of Test matches when he was the captain. I am getting to know him as well. His desire to improve, his desire to get better is fascinating to watch,” Dravid said of Kohli.

‘Not a result-oriented coach’

Even as a player, Dravid wasn’t always the most result-oriented cricketer despite this game thriving on results in India. Talking on the same lines, Dravid explained his main goal was always to allow the captain to take his vision forward and ensure the team makes the most out of it.

“As a coach, at the end of the day, my job is to help the captain deliver his vision, his philosophy of how he wants the team to play,” Dravid said. “I don’t really like talking more about results. Yes, results are important. I am in a business that runs on results.

“I think results are the factor of many things. When you are constantly rotating players and the kind of number of players you will have to play in spite of that the kind of results we got in these past months have given me more satisfaction,” he continued.

Meanwhile, the BCCI will announce the new head coach in the coming days, with former two-time World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir leading the race.

(With inputs from agencies)