Rahul Dravid ,having not won a world cup as a player went on to fulfil his desire by guiding an India U19 team to the trophy in 2018 and came close to repeating the feat with the senior team in the ODI World Cup last year when they lost the final. The Men in Blue would be aiming for a better performance against South Africa after having lost in group stage in T20 WC 2022.
Rahul Dravid’s tenure as Indian coach
Rahul Dravid assumed his coaching duties with Team India after Ravi Shastri completed his tenure in 2021. Under the Dravid’s guidance, the Men in Blue reached the semifinals of the 2022 T20 World Cup but thrashed by the eventual champions England in Adelaide. India also reached the World Championship Final but lost to Australia at The Oval in Leeds last year. Rahul Dravid came close to winning the ODI World Cup last year but Team India suffered a heartbreaking defeat against the sixth-time champions Australia in the Final.
Apart from failure to ICC trophies thus far, Rahul Dravid guided India to numerous bilateral series, with the latest being 4-1 series win against visiting England team led by Ben Stokes.
The T20 World Cup 2024 Final against South Africa will be an emotional occasion for Team India as their head coach Rahul Dravid will be guiding the Men in Blue for one final time before stepping down from his coaching duties.
Dravid’s contract was extended despite India’s heartbreaking defeat against Australia in the ODI World Cup 2023 Final in Ahmedabad in November. With the ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup being the final assignment for the former Indian captain as the head coach of Team India, the fans on social media rolled out a campaign called #DoItDravid as they demand the Men in Blue win an ICC trophy for Rahul Dravid.
The campaign has garnered a lot of attention from fans, uniting Indian cricket enthusiasts in their desire to see Team India lift the T20 World Cup trophy for the second time as a fitting farewell to Rahul Dravid.
Rahul Dravid asserts Ahmedabad heartbreak won’t affect Team India in 2024 T20 World Cup final
Team India’s outgoing head coach Rahul Dravid has asserted that the players have moved on from the 2023 ODI World Cup final loss and are looking forward to give their best in the 2024 T20 World Cup final. He also said that they were well prepared for the ODI World Cup final last year but credited Australia for being the better team on the day.
The Men in Blue had a terrific run in the 2023 ODI World Cup at home, as they entered the final unbeaten. However, it all came to naught, as India went down to Australia by six wickets in the summit clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19.
Like in the one-day World Cup last year, Team India head into the 2024 T20 World Cup final against South Africa having not lost a match. Dravid is hopeful that the Men in Blue will be able to overcome the Proteas challenge in Barbados on Saturday, June 29. On the eve of the mega clash, he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI:
“Players are very good at moving on from things, recognizing things. So, we will move on from Ahmedabad. I’m sure they will not be thinking about history. It’ll be a fresh day.
“Two good teams, two teams I think that everyone will agree will probably be the top two teams in this tournament. So, deserving finals for both the teams. And, hopefully, it’s a great game of cricket. Hopefully, we fall on the right side,” the former India captain went on to add.
India will be playing in their third consecutive ICC final on Saturday. They had, however, suffered defeats to Australia in the previous two knockout clashes.
Before the ODI World Cup final, the Aussies had also defeated India in the 2023 World Test Championship final. Dravid, however, opined that Team India were well-prepared for the big games, but the opposition was too good for them.
“I thought we were very well-prepared in Ahmedabad (ODI WC). We ticked all the boxes and, on that day, the other team played better.
“That’s part of the sport. The other team that’s coming there to play has also obviously reached the final because they’re a good team and they’re playing very good cricket as well,” the 51-year-old legend explained.
Even as Dravid downplayed the two big losses to Australia last year, the fact remains that India have stumbled in ICC knockout games over the last decade.
As a result, they haven’t won an ICC trophy since lifting the Champions Trophy in 2013. Reflecting on India’s inability to break the jinx, Dravid preferred to look at the positives and commented:
“It is a good thing we have been consistently playing good cricket. We have been in finals in all three formats and credit goes to the players. If we play well and rub of the green goes (our way), we will surely win.”
India had made the semifinal of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia but suffered a 10-wicket hammering against England.
“The fact that we’ve played a game in Barbados is nice” – Rahul Dravid
India took on Afghanistan in their first Super 8 match at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, on June 20.
Batting first, the Men in Blue put up 181-8 before holding Afghanistan to 134. Dravid agreed that it’s nice to have played at the venue before but doesn’t really count it as a big advantage.
“Yeah, I mean, just the fact that we’ve played a game in Barbados is nice. It’s nice that we have that familiarity of having played on that surface in the past.
“But again, I think it’s very hard to… We’re not going to get exactly the same wicket that we got last time. I mean, it can be different, right?,” the Indian head coach explained.
India’s previous appearance in the Men’s T20 World Cup final came in 2014 in Dhaka. The Men in Blue lost that match to Sri Lanka by six wickets.
Rahul Dravid hopes to end his tenure on high
With Team India qualifying for the T20 World Cup 2024 Final against South Africa after the semifinal over England, head coach Rahul Dravid will be hoping to end his tenure on a positive note. The Men in Blue have remained unbeaten in the showpiece event. In the first round, Rohit Sharma-led side won three consecutive matches against Ireland, Pakistan and the USA before their final group stage fixture against Canada was washed out to rain.
In Super 8, the Men in Blue continued their brilliant run by defeating Afghanistan, Australia and Bangladesh in order to seal their berth for the semifinal against England. In the semifinal, Team India avenged their 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal defeat against Jos Buttler-led side. Team India will look to end their 11-year ICC title drought when they take on unbeaten Proteas men led by Aiden Markram in the ultimate title in Barbados on Saturday, June 29.