The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today appointed former Indian batting great Rahul Dravid head coach of the senior Indian men’s cricket team.
He will succeed Ravi Shastri, who will step down after the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup in the UAE. Dravid, who was working as the head of National Cricket Academy, has been appointed for two years till the 2023 50-over World Cup in India.
"The Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Ms Sulakshana Naik and Mr RP Singh on Wednesday unanimously appointed Mr Rahul Dravid as the Head Coach of Team India (Senior Men). The former India captain will take charge from the upcoming home series against New Zealand," the BCCI stated in a media release.
It was just a matter of a formal announcement, after Dravid applied for the post on October 26. Initially, Dravid was reluctant, but it is understood that BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah met him during the IPL 2021 final where they were able to convince him.
"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," Dravid said.
He also thanked his predecessor Shastri for his role in shaping the current Indian team.
"Under Mr Shastri, the team has done very well, and I hope to work with the team to take this forward."
The 48-year-old has overseen India A and U-19 set-up for the past six years and players such as Rishabh Pant, Avesh Khan, Prithvi Shaw, Hanuma Vihari, and Shubman Gill have come through the system prepared by him.
Under Dravid, a new era in Indian cricket will start with the home series against New Zealand where he will take charge with a new T20 captain as Virat Kohli will resign after the ongoing T20 World Cup.
(With PTI inputs)