Dravid Credits Rohit Sharma for Driving Change in Indian White-Ball Cricket

Rahul Dravid praised Rohit Sharma’s leadership, saying his openness to change helped India evolve and win the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Former India head coach Rahul Dravid highlighted Rohit Sharma’s leadership as a key factor behind India’s recent success. Dravid said Rohit’s willingness to adapt made communication within the team smooth and effective. He felt the captain’s approach allowed messages to spread naturally across the squad.

Dravid coached India for nearly three years. During that period, the team won the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Americas under Rohit’s captaincy. Gautam Gambhir later replaced Dravid as head coach.

Dravid noted that Rohit understood the need for change in white-ball cricket. He accepted responsibility for pushing the team forward. According to the former coach, working with Rohit made leadership decisions simpler and more effective.

READ ALSO | New Zealand Coach Admits Struggling To Find Weakness In Abhishek Sharma

“He showed the way. I think the easy part in this thing was working with Rohit, someone who himself really had quite a dispute with him. He was also recognising that the game was changing. I think, you know, the nature of batsmanship in white-ball cricket over the last 10 years or so… everything had started to change. In some ways, there was a feeling that we were slightly behind and we needed to get better at that. We needed to push the envelope a little bit more,” he said.

“We needed to take a few more risks. Run rates were going up. All of these things were going up. So, it was then actually just very easy to have that conversation with him. I think he was completely on board. He was someone who took the responsibility of setting the game forward,” Dravid continued.

“He (Rohit) already had a phenomenal record. I mean, his performances in the 2019 World Cup were absolutely phenomenal. Five hundred and, you know, playing at a certain tempo. But that tempo needed to change,” he added.

Coaching Methods Must Evolve with the Game

Rahul Dravid then explained that coaching must adapt with time. He stressed that methods effective earlier may not suit current formats. He referred to former coach Keki Tarapore, who trained players to keep shots along the ground. Dravid noted that such an approach no longer fits present-day white-ball cricket.

“So, one thing to learn as a coach is that you should never coach like you did yourself. I think the deal’s changed a lot. You know, the late Mr. (Keki) Tarapore , who was a phenomenal coach, a phenomenal man. If I hit the ball in the air, he would make me run down the ground. He said, ‘you’ve got to keep the ball on the ground. Keep it to the bottom, lean, keep it straight’,” he said.

“You just imagine, if I were to be coached by him now… and to keep the ball to the ground and not to hit it in the air… that’s not going to work, right? So, I think you’ve got to change with the times. You’ve got to realise what’s the need that we have,” Dravid concluded.