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‘If a guy like Rahul Dravid is there, you learn something every day’: Rahane lauds Dravid’s role in grooming youngsters
Ajinkya Rahane, who led the team brilliantly in the absence of Virat Kohli, has admitted that Dravid’s role was ‘massive’ in India’s win Down Under.
Former India captain Rahul Dravid was widely praised for grooming up the youngsters who put up a phenomenal show against Australia. The likes of Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur and T Natarajan played major roles in defeating the hosts at their fortress – The Gabba by three wickets and helped India win the Border-Gavaskar 2-1.
Dravid may have had refused to take the credit but it’s believed that his association with the U-19 team, India A and now with the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru has nurtured a bunch of youngsters who are ready to play for the country at bigger stages.
Ajinkya Rahane, who led the team brilliantly in the absence of Virat Kohli, has admitted that Dravid’s role was ‘massive’ in India’s win Down Under.
In an interview with the Indian Express, Rahane said, “Rahul bhai plays a very big role. He was with the Under-19 team, then he was with India A, and now he is with the National Cricket Academy. (The system) has helped Mohammed Siraj, Saini… They have been on their toes and they did so well. Shubman Gill also, Mayank Agarwal… Before joining international cricket, he did so many tours with India A, got runs at the domestic level. So, I think Rahul bhai’s role was massive.”
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“We used to go to NCA before lockdown… and if a guy like Rahul Dravid is there, you learn something every day… We talk over the phone, exchange messages. He messaged me after the Melbourne match and immediately after the Brisbane match, saying how proud he was of the team,” he added.
Earlier in January, Dravid refused to take any credit for the success of India’s young and inexperienced cricketers in Australia.
“Ha ha, unnecessary credit, the boys deserve all the praise,” Dravid had told the Sunday Express.
India were forced to field 20 cricketers in the four-match series and hand debuts to as many as five cricketers. Fortunately, none of the youngsters was fazed and in fact, almost all of them played their part in India’s series win.
