From Jammy to Dravid sir: Coach Rahul Dravid takes charge of Team India

Late on Friday night, as most cricket fans were revelling in Chennai's comeback IPL win, reports came in that batting great Rahul Dravid is set to take charge as Indian cricket team's head coach on a two-year contract. Since

Dravid

had been offered this role several times in the past and he had politely denied each time, fans were pleasantly surprised. Apart from being one of the best batters the game has seen, Dravid is easily one of the most liked and respected figures in cricket. In addition, he brings to the table unparalleled experience in coaching, having been the coach of India 'A' and India U-19 teams for the past several years. Under his stewardship, the U-19 team won the World Cup in 2018 and the 'A' side has served as a feeder for the senior team, producing several players like Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, and Mayank Agarwal among others. Dravid was the interim coach of the second Indian side in the Sri Lanka tour recently as the main squad – led by coach Ravi Shastri – was in England. But pretty soon, he will assume command full time.


As soon as the news broke in the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, social media was buzzing. The reactions ranged from Indian fans' elation to cricket pundits' appreciation

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Dravid's graduation from the coach of the development teams to the main team is in line with how he was as a player too. Over the years, he became famous for standing up for the team whenever he was needed, in whatever role he was needed. He started as a batter, transformed himself into a wicketkeeper, and even captained the team when nobody else wanted that job. During his playing days, there was a popular joke in the cricketing circles about Dravid's famous dedication for the Indian team: "If the captain asks Rahul Dravid to walk on water, he'd simply ask, 'How far?'"

Dravid, Ganguly and Mhambrey: The Class of '96 in charge of Team IndiaWith Dravid all set to assume charge as the full-time head coach of the team, the class of '96 will virtually be running Indian cricket for some time. Apart from head coach Dravid, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly all made their name on the Indian cricket team's tour to England in 1996. Dravid famously made his Test debut for the Indian team on that '96 tour, scoring 95 in his first game at Lord's. He was upstaged by another debutant – Bengal batter Sourav Ganguly, who scored 131. Both Dravid and Ganguly had played a handful of ODIs before that tour but hadn't played Tests and weren't considered established members of the team. Their performances on the tour changed this. Ganguly, who is currently the BCCI chief, would go on to share numerous partnerships with Dravid over the 12 years they played together for India. Another player, who had made his debut for India in the same series, was fast bowler Paras Mhambrey. Unlike the other two, however, Mhambrey's international career did not take off. He did find success later as a coach, and has been working as the bowling coach of the India 'A' and India under-19 teams since 2015. Mhambrey will reportedly join the Indian team's support staff in the same capacity.

'Lucky to learn cricket from him': Wards on Dravid sirHis coaching skills have already produced both results and several players. Many of the players, who played under him for India-A and India under-19, talk about what they learnt from Dravid sir: