As India's head coach, Rahul Dravid is gearing up for his first ODI World Cup campaign as Rohit Sharma's men are set to kickstart the title-charge against Australia on October 8. This will be Dravid's second ICC tournament as head coach of the senior team; last year, India faced a semi-final exit in the T20 World Cup under the Dravid-Rohit duo, facing a 10-wicket loss to England.
A legendary batter in his playing days, Dravid faced his fair share of challenges in leadership roles, with the 2007 ODI World Cup remaining a stark blot on his career. During that tournament, India suffered the ignominy of being knocked out in the group stage, facing defeats at the hands of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. More than 16 years have passed since the forgettable outing at the World Cup, and it seems Dravid has moved beyond those difficult times.
In his new role, long after his retirement from the game, Dravid has shifted his focus entirely to guiding India to World Cup glory as part of the team management. He has confessed he's "forgotten" what it's like to be a player.
“It's a long time since I was a player. I almost forgot that I was actually a cricket player at one stage to be very honest with you,” Dravid said in a press conference ahead of India's opener against Australia.
{{/usCountry}}“It's a long time since I was a player. I almost forgot that I was actually a cricket player at one stage to be very honest with you,” Dravid said in a press conference ahead of India's opener against Australia.
{{/usCountry}}“I have moved on from that. I don't think of myself as a player anymore. Maybe that's the mind-space difference... I'm focussed on helping the group to do the best they can.
“I mean in the end that's the job of the support staff, the job of the coach really is to support the vision of the captain and help him execute his vision over the course of the next couple of months and hope we can do that really well.”
Controlling the controllables
Controlling the controllables is Dhoni's favourite phrase but no one believes in it more than Dravid.
“Yeah... I mean I guess you recognise as a coach that once the game starts, once the guys cross the line, there is only so much you can do.
“As coaches, we don't score a single run or take a single wicket in the tournament. All we can do is really support the players.”