Former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid who was the coach of the Indian team during their white-ball series against Sri Lanka stated that he has not yet thought of taking up this role on a permanent basis. He is currently the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and visited with the Indian team to the island nation as Ravi Shastri was busy with the Test squad in England where they are busy preparing for the five-match Test series slated to begin on 4th August.
Dravid admitted that there are a lot of challenges with full-time roles and despite enjoying his stint in Sri Lanka he hasn’t thought of anything far ahead. “I have enjoyed this experience but I have not thought of anything far ahead. I have been doing what I am doing,” he said
I have not given any other thought but this tour and getting through the tour. I have enjoyed the experience of working with these guys, it has been great. I have not given any other thoughts to anything else. There are a lot of challenges in doing full-time roles, so I really don’t know,” Dravid further added.
Dravid had earlier worked with the India U 19 team and was the coach when India lifted the U 19 title in 2018 under the captaincy of Prithvi Shaw. He has also with the Indian A teams but this was the first time he was working with the senior team.
With as many as 9 players unavailable due to strict COVID protocols, India went onto lose the T20 series. Dravid felt that it wasn’t the easiest of conditions to bat on but agreed that Sanju Samson would be disappointed at the end of the series after his pretty ordinary showing.
“It was not the easiest of conditions to bat in. In the one-day game that he got a chance, he got a very good start and got 46. In T20Is, it was a bit challenging, but yeah, when (you) would look back at the series, you would be a bit disappointed. But it’s not just Sanju, most of these young guys are talented and terrific players. We need to be patient with them,” Dravid said.
“It was quite challenging after the first game, but I thought there are a lot of opportunities and learnings from games like these for the youngsters. It gives them exposure to international cricket. It is important for the players to hang in there and tackle the quality bowling line-up. The great positive for me is the way guys have fought," Dravid said.