Former India captain Rahul Dravid was on Wednesday officially appointed as the head coach of the Indian men’s senior cricket team, the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced.
The ex-India Under-19 and India A coach, and recently head of National Cricket Academy, Dravid will take charge from the upcoming home series against New Zealand that begins soon after the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
The BCCI had invited applications for the post last month as incumbent Ravi Shastri’s term ends with the World Cup. It was all but certain that Dravid would be named his successor. The 48-year-old had travelled with a second-string Indian side to Sri Lanka as interim head coach while the main team was touring England.
“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,” Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI President and Dravid’s former teammate, said in a release.
“He has also served Indian cricket as Head of National Cricket Academy 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,” he added.
The Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Sulakshana Naik and RP Singh made the appointment, the board said in their statement.
It was recently reported by multiple outlets that that Dravid’s appointment was only a formality once he was convinced to throw his hat in the ring.
“The Board congratulates Shastri (former Team Director & Head Coach), Bharat Arun (Bowling Coach), R Sridhar (Fielding Coach) and Vikram Rathour (Batting Coach) on a successful tenure. Under Shastri, the Indian Cricket Team adopted a bold and fearless approach and performed creditably both in home and away conditions. India climbed to the top position in the Test format and made it to the final of the inaugural World Test Championship in England,” the statement from BCCI said.
“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 were also the first team to win all 5 T20Is in a bilateral series when it blanked New Zealand 5-0. Under Shastri and his team’s guidance, India won all their seven Test series at home.”
Rathour recently confirmed he has reapplied for the role of batting coach.
“With two World Cups scheduled to take place in the next two years, it is important to have a seamless transition, and the former India captain is the right man for the job,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said.
“Having provided the much-needed direction to NCA and overseen the progression of the boys at India U-19 and India A level, we believe this is also a natural progression for him as a coach. I have no doubt that under him, the Indian team will dominate in all formats. The Board will soon make appointments of other coaching staff, who will support the head coach in jointly achieving our targets.”
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