One ICC Champions Trophy and a T20 World Cup win later, Indian cricket still misses the Rahul Dravid era. That team won one ICC title – the 2024 T20 World Cup – and lost two, but it still remains one of the most cherished 28-month stint. The team camaraderie, transparency, and communication were top-notch, which cannot be said of the current team dynamics. Although Gautam Gambhir has performed remarkably well as India’s white-ball coach with a zero percent failure rate in ICC tournaments, his fallout with Virat Kohli has left a poor taste in his coaching tenure.
It’s not official. Nothing has been said about the Kohli-Gambhir equation on record, but after Kohli’s fiery RCB podcast, the communication gap is all but confirmed.
And to think that the transition from Ravi Shastri to Dravid as coach and the direction in which Indian cricket moved forward was highly commendable and smooth. Wriddhiman Saha’s exit from the Indian Test was handled with extreme professionalism by Dravid, making it clear that the wicketkeeper no longer fit India’s Test scheme of things. When Dravid replaced Shastri and Rohit Sharma took over from Kohli as India’s all-format captain, it wasn’t as if everything was hunky dory, but to ensure Indian cricket did not suffer, Dravid took the responsibility and saw everything through properly.
“The head coach played a big role, and the credit should go to Rahul Dravid. He was very clear, open, and honest in his communication. It’s very important to handle the responsibility, and Rahul did that brilliantly. He was very honest with Virat, and sometimes honest conversations are tough conversations, but you have to have it,” former India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, part of India’s coaching staff under Dravid, said on The Hook podcast.
“Rahul had those conversations with Virat. We shared the plans. It’s not like Rohit was the only one informed. Virat was equally informed. Virat may not have attended all meetings, but whatever discussion we had with Rohit, they were conveyed to Virat. He was never kept out of anything. That’s why everything was so smooth, and there appeared a camaraderie.”
What made Dravid an excellent coach
Indian cricket has rarely seen great players become great coaches. Kapil Dev was one such example. Once Shastri left, having set the benchmark high, a real test awaited Dravid, who had previously overseen the growth of India A and the Under-19 team. As a player himself, Dravid had lived through one of the most turbulent phases in Indian cricket under Greg Chappell. Hence, when he took over as head coach, The Wall knew exactly what he had to do, and, perhaps more importantly, what he had to avoid.
“Rahul was a great player, right? But it’s important to understand that as a player and coach, you have to be different. It’s a line that you need to understand. As a player, you’re always in the front, but once you become a coach, you then say, ‘I need to be behind. You never saw Dravid in the limelight. He understands because he has been a player himself. He understood what problems a player can face,” added Mhambrey.
“If you have a coach who’s in your face all the time, how can the atmosphere not be impacted? He understood that really well. It’s not easy. Sometimes the ego comes in, but Rahul was nice, took a back seat, and gave Rohit an opportunity. Rahul also had disagreements, but he put his point across with a lot of faith. But after that, you allow the captain to take over. Then it becomes complex. We had tough conversations, but sometimes you also need to challenge your ideas and views.”
