Rahul Dravid was a world-class Test batsman during his time as an India cricketer. He also played loads of ODIs and scored thousands of runs but sadly never won an ICC tournament. He played quite a few matches in the IPL too but the shortest format of the game was never really his cup of tea. Be that as it may, he won a T20 World Cup, in a totally different capacity — as an India coach in 2024.
So, it’s from the horse’s mouth. Dravid believes India should stick to their process, no matter what. Suryakumar Yadav‘s men kick off their Super-8s campaign against South Africa at Ahmedabad on Sunday. “I think the great advantage that India has is that we are not relying on 1-2 people. We have got great depth in the side. So you would expect that depth to come through. But of course, it is Twenty20 cricket; there is an unknown in Twenty20 cricket. It is the most volatile format of the game, and on any given day, as I have learnt as well as a coach, you can lose. Stick to the process and do what you can and hope for the best,” Dravid told NDTV.
In one of the biggest upsets in the history of the T20 World Cup, Zimbabwe beat Australia in a group game. The 2021-edition winner ended up crashing out following another defeat against Sri Lanka and then a washout between Zimbabwe and Ireland. Later Zimbabwe also beat Sri Lanka in their own den. Impressed with the African country’s exploits so far, Dravid won’t mind an India vs Zimbabwe final. “I would take India versus anybody. India versus Zimbabwe? That would be great for Zimbabwe cricket. It would be amazing if Zimbabwe can make it. I would love to see one of the lesser teams, alongside India. That would be great,” the 53-year-old said.
The ongoing T20 World Cup will be remembered for how the Associate Nations gave Test nations a good run for their money. Pakistan were nearly beaten by the Netherlands. Then USA stunned India’s top order and middle order before Suryakumar rolled out the rescue act. There were many such matches where the lesser teams really tested the behemoths of international cricket. For Dravid, that was the highlight of the tournament so far.
“The defining thing for me of the World Cup so far is something that people have spoken about quite a lot, which has been the fact that a lot of the associate teams have played some fantastic cricket. It is just great to see the kind of talent that we are getting to see in a lot of associate nations. There’s been some really good performances from all across the board.
“A lot of them might not have qualified for the Super 8s, which was always going to be very difficult in this kind of format, but even in that, they have really shown that they have some good young talent,” he said.
