On 3rd November 2021, Former Indian captain, Rahul Dravid has been appointed as the new Head Coach of Team India (Senior Men). The issue of new coach had been in the headlines for a long time. Dravid was the fan’s favorite to be the new coach. Although in the starting, Jammy declined the offer of coaching Indian team and was in favor of continuing with National Cricket Academy. But after joint efforts and talks by Sourav Ganguly, BCCI was able to convince Dravid for the new role. It has been decided by the BCCI that Dravid will take charge from the upcoming home series against New Zealand. Till now, he has been serving as the Head of National Cricket Academy. He has also served as the coach for the India Under-19 and India-A sides. India won the 2018 ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand under Dravid’s guidance.
On October 26, BCCI invited applications for the position of Head Coach of Indian Men’s Cricket Team or the successor of Ravi Shastri. The term of India’s current coach Shastri will get over after the T20 World Cup 2021. The Cricket Advisory Committee appointed Mr Rahul Dravid as the Head Coach of Team India (Senior Men). The committee comprised of Ms Sulakshana Naik and Mr RP Singh.
BCCI congratulated Mr Shastri (former Team Director & Head Coach), Mr B. Arun (Bowling Coach), Mr R. Sridhar (Fielding Coach) and Mr Vikram Rathour (Batting Coach) for their contribution to the team and also on their successful tenure. Under Ravi Shastri, India evolved its approach to be more bold and fearless on the ground. The team played wonderfully both in home and away conditions. Some milestones achieved under Ravi Shastri were as follows:
India achieved the top position in the Test format under the guidance of Ravi Shastri.
India made it to the final of the inaugural World Test Championship in England.
India became the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia (2018-19) and followed it with another series win in 2020-21.
India became the first team to win all 5 T20Is in a bilateral series after defeating New Zealand 5-0.
Under Mr Shastri, India won all their seven Test series at home.
Mr Sourav Ganguly, the President of BCCI said the following on the appointement of Dravid as new coach:
“The BCCI welcomes Rahul Dravid as the Head Coach of India’s senior men team. Rahul has had an illustrious playing career and is one of the greats of the game. He has also served Indian cricket as Head of National Cricket Academy (NCA) with distinction. Rahul’s effort at the NCA has nurtured several young cricketing talents who have gone on to represent the country at the international stage. I am hopeful that his new stint will take Indian cricket to new heights.”
Congratulations to Rahul Dravid on being appointed as the next India men’s head coach ?#CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/jDMQFaDQyX
— Lord’s Cricket Ground (@HomeOfCricket) November 3, 2021
Mr Rahul Dravid, the new Head Coach of Team India said the following on his appointment:
“It is an absolute honour to be appointed as the new Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team and I am really looking forward to this role. Under Mr Shastri, the team has done very well, and I hope to work with the team to take this forward. Having worked closely with most of the boys either at NCA, U19 and India A setup, I know they have the passion and desire to improve every day. There are some marquee multi-team events in the next two years, and I look forward to working with the players and the support staff to achieve our potential.”
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