‘Look we are all upset, let’s go for a movie’: Irfan Pathan reveals how Dravid reacted after India’s 2007 World Cup exit

Former Indian pacer Irfan Pathan revealed an anecdote about how the former skipper used to mingle with youngsters during his captaincy days.

Former captain Rahul Dravid is back with India and this time he has stepped in the shoes of the head coach of the team. A new-look Indian team is gearing up for the upcoming series in Sri Lanka which begin on July 13 in Colombo. The players are training under the watchful eyes of Dravid while fans are more than happy for his association with the team.

Former Indian pacer Irfan Pathan, with former captain Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni (L-R) (Getty Images)

Dravid is hugely praised for nurturing a pool of youngsters who have impressed with their game at the biggest level. He has always garnered admiration for helping other players and recently, former Indian pacer Irfan Pathan revealed an anecdote regarding The Wall, as to how the former skipper used to mingle with youngsters during his captaincy days.

“What Rahul brings in is clear communication. Even when he was the leader of the Indian cricket team at that time also, he was very clear with any youngster. If anyone had any kind of problem, they can go up to him and just talk about it freely,” Pathan was quoted as saying by Cricket Next.

Pathan narrated an incident from ICC World Cup 2007 which remains a forgettable memory in the history of Indian cricket. The Dravid-led team, which had the stalwarts like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, crashed out of the tournament after losing 2 out of three matches in the group stage. Following India’s exit, the captain took some of the young players to a movie to pacify their mood.

“I remember a very small incident from the 2007 World Cup in West Indies. He came to me and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He said, ‘Look we are all upset. Let’s go for a movie’.

“We went to watch the movie and then he said, ‘look, yes we lost the World Cup. We all wanted to make a big difference. But this is not end of it. Life is much bigger. We will come back tomorrow’. That’s the kind of character he is,” Pathan said.

“He is always looking to put cricketers in a positive frame of mind. So, if someone, unfortunately, goes out of form in Sri Lanka if that happens, he will be the first one to guide him and give confidence,” he added.