BCCI president Sourav Ganguly put an end to the speculations by confirming legendary India cricketer Rahul Dravid as the head coach for the limited-overs tour to Sri Lanka in July.
Former India captain and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly confirmed Rahul Dravid as the head coach of the Indian team travelling to Sri Lanka for the limited-overs series in July.
Legendary India cricketer Dravid’s name as the possible head coach for the Sri Lanka tour was doing the rounds for quite some time but the board hadn’t made any official announcements while naming the squad for the tour.
Ganguly, however, put an end to the speculations by confirming the developments.
“Rahul Dravid will be the coach for the India tour to Sri Lanka,” Ganguly told the Indian Express.
Dravid has been one of the main reasons behind India’s enviable bench strength, which has been lauded by pundits across the globe. The only second Indian cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar to notch up more than 10,000 runs in Tests and ODIs, Dravid, has been at the helm of India’s U19 and A teams for the last few years.
The former captain is currently the head of cricket affairs at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
India are slated to play three ODIs and three T20Is in Sri Lanka in July. This is the first time, two different Indian teams will be playing at two different parts of the world. Regular captain Virat Kohli will be leading the Test side in a five-match series against England whereas Shikhar Dhawan will lead the Indian limited-overs side around the same time in Sri Lanka.
One of the members of the squad Ruturaj Gaikwad, who earned his maiden India call-up on the back of some eye-catching innings for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL after a successful domestic season, said he is looking forward to reconnecting with Rahul Dravid, who coached the Indian under-19 and A teams. Gaikwad said that he has received a chance to ‘regroup’ with Dravid and he is happy to receive the opportunity to talk to him about the game.
“The opportunities would be limited but I’m just looking forward to learn from this journey as much as I can. There are experienced players in the group and obviously once again I will get a chance to reconnect with Rahul Sir,” he said.
“The last India A tour happened one and half years ago, so again, there is a chance to regroup with him (Rahul Dravid) have a chat about the game, so there is a lot more than just performance or scorecard.
“Obviously if I get opportunity, just hoping that I can give my best and wish to win a game for India. One of my biggest goals is to get a win for the Indian team or my country.”
