Rahul Dravid has donned many hats as a player. Adjusting for the greater good of the Indian cricket team had become his penchant at the time. In addition to being one of the key batsmen, at one stage he had also taken up the responsibility of a wicketkeeper when the team was being formed with the 2003 World Cup in mind.
A lot of time has passed since then, but the ever-dependable Dravid continues to be called on during trying times. Like then, Sourav Ganguly is among those who are once again asking Dravid, 44, to take on more responsibility with another World Cup in mind, one that’s just two years away.
Along with the other two members of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s Cricket Advisory Committee – Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman – Ganguly appointed Dravid as the overseas batting consultant of the Indian team, despite him already holding posts of head coach of the India A and under-19 teams.
It was only recently that Dravid signed a two-year contract extension to coach the India A and under-19 sides. Reports had emerged that he would divide time between the two teams and hand over responsibility of the junior side to former India cricketer WV Raman when away on duty with the A side.
Dravid is likely to travel with the U-19 side for their tour of England between July 23 and August 3. He is later slated to travel to South Africa for India A’s two unofficial Tests against the hosts. With this arrangement, Dravid will miss the limited-overs leg of both tours. Incidentally, during this period, India’s senior team will be in Sri Lanka for a tour consisting of three Tests, five ODIs and one T20I, beginning July 26.
If he sticks to the plan that emerged prior to Tuesday’s appointments, he will miss India’s first overseas tour on his watch.
Time management
In 2015, when Dravid first took up the post of coach for the two junior teams, there was talk that the BCCI was keen on handing the former India batsman an active role in the cricketing side of things. He is said to have been offered the post of head coach of the senior team first, but he declined it citing the incessant travel that the job entailed.
Then, BCCI president at the time, Anurag Thakur, had even offered him a place in the CAC, but Dravid had instead picked the opportunity to groom youngsters and help mold the feeder teams to the national side.
His resistance for the tricky task of being in the coaching staff of the national side has finally capitulated, and he has his old teammates to thank for it.
Considering the circumstances, it will be interesting to see how he manages to divide time to all three teams through the year. But, if there is anyone who can take the task up, it’s Dravid.
That he was one of the best cricketers in the world is hardly in doubt. His performance with the junior sides has borne quite a few positive results. Young players like Rishabh Pant too have emerged from the rough and have started knocking on the doors of the Indian team.
But all this was achieved at a time when he had a clear mandate in front of him. After such a long spell, Dravid will now have to tweak his focus and also think about the senior side, which is set to play at least three overseas tours in the upcoming season.
CAC’s man
Considering the existent load on his shoulders, the CAC could have opted for someone else or just avoided the appointment altogether. India already has a batting coach in Sanjay Bangar, who has been operating for a while now and has produced positive results. More importantly, by all accounts so far, he enjoys cordial relations with all members of the team.
Speculation is rife that the CAC relented on Ravi Shastri’s name as head coach due to Kohli’s affinity towards him. However, the panel’s move to stretch their mandate to include Dravid and Zaheer Khan as consultants hints that they did not have complete trust in Shastri’s ability and wanted people they could trust in the mix.
The three stalwarts have a reputation to maintain. Former head coach Anil Kumble’s unceremonious exit after a successful year in the job has already raised questions. Another controversy surrounding their pick would only further undermine their credibility as advisors.
The appointment of Dravid as well as Zaheer signals a trend in how the CAC operates. A year ago they placed Kumble in the hot seat, despite his lack of coaching experience at the international level. What worked for him at the time was his wealth of experience as a player, a short stint as director of Indian Premier League outfit Mumbai Indians and above all the trust of the CAC, whose members have played extensively with him.
Dravid and Zaheer too do not have experience coaching at the highest level, but their reputation as high-quality cricketers is unquestionable. Trust, however, remains the clincher. It is no surprise that despite the two calls for interviews for head coach, the CAC went ahead and hired two consultants without any official interaction with the duo.
Focus on overseas tours
India are set to play many foreign tours in the lead up to the 2019 World Cup. After the Sri Lanka tour, India are likely to travel again in September, which was set aside for the now scrapped Champions League T20.
They will end the year with a full tour of South Africa. The following year, India are slated to tour England and Australia.
With the World Cup also set to be played in England, it makes sense for the team’s batting order to have a player of Dravid’s calibre to consult.
After a long home season in the past year, the team needs to re-focus its energies for success overseas. In such a scenario, having Dravid in the back room will only add to the team’s preparedness.
This isn’t his first stint with the senior team in a coaching role. The former top-order batsman had previously joined the team as a batting consultant ahead of their tour of England in 2014. Many players then had come out and spoken fondly of their stints under him.
The success of his appointment, though, depends entirely on his ability to juggle with his commitments for the junior sides. For now, one can only wait and watch how he goes about doing three jobs. The ones who will be observing this most intently will be his old teammates, who have once again asked him to don another hat for the Indian team.