3 immediate challenges facing Rahul Dravid as Team India head coach
Former India captain Rahul Dravid has formally been appointed head coach of the Indian team. He will take over from Ravi Shastri, whose contract ends after the T20 World Cup, from the home series against New Zealand. This will be his first major challenge. New Zealand's tour starts with T20Is and will also have a couple of Test matches.
A new era begins. #RahulDravid is back 😍😍 https://t.co/M5uS5tkGo9
Rahul Dravid comes into this role after having been in the system since 2016 where he was coach of the India Under-19 side. He led a young troop in 2018 Under-19 World Cup as well and helped them clinch the title.
Rahul Dravid played a significant role in overseeing the progress of a number of India A sides until 2019. He has since served as the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
Rahul Dravid takes over as Head Coach of the Indian Senior Men’s Cricket Team after the #T20WorldCup. Congratulations, and best wishes, Rahul. 🥳🤩
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He takes over at a time when Indian cricket has had mixed fortunes and he might need to make a few tough decisions.
Here we take a look at the 3 big challenges Rahul Dravid faces in his new role as head coach:
1.) Waning prowess of Virat Kohli, as a leader
Virat Kohli, the undisputed leader of Indian cricket, is showing signs of wear and tear and he wants to let go of leadership roles to focus on his own game. If this T20 World Cup is anything to go by, the Indian team will be better served by a new captain with fresh ideas and this will be Rahul Dravid's foremost challenge.
Previous Indian coaches have had to deal with just one captain across formats, but the game has evolved and the strict bio-bubbles and crammed schedule might see countries naming multiple teams with different captains.
Rohit Sharma is the leading candidate to take over from Kohli as T20 captain and how the new coach sets his tone with both these leaders across different formats could well define his legacy.
Click here to view the full list of ICC T20 World Cup 2021 team and squads.
2.) Challenges facing the white-ball side
With the off-field issues tackled, Rahul Dravid has to get down and clear out the cobwebs that have surrounded India's white ball cricket. For all the talent and talk of a fearless approach, the Indian team crumbles the second pressure is put on them. They have had decent runs in ICC tournaments, but for all their talent and pedigree, a lack of a trophy since 2011 and a visible lack of strategy is extremely confounding.
Rahul Dravid believes in data, analytics and tactics - these traits might well come in handy to make this Indian team the juggernaut that they can so well be in white-ball cricket. He has immediate challenges too - there is a T20 World Cup in Australia next year and the 50-over World Cup in 2023. Rahul Dravid has his task cut out.
3.) Managing the workload
Yes, India have not been at their best in the ongoing T20 World Cup, but one needs to step back and empathize with the players as well. They have been packed in bubbles and the calendar has been brutal. Virat Kohli keeps talking about ridiculous scheduling, but at the end of the day, it is the business of cricket that takes priority.
Rahul Dravid, who is a great man-manager, will need to identify this and accordingly pick his players for different series. There is no dearth of talent and Dravid himself understands the feeder system in Indian cricket. We might see him go the England route and chalk out a different limited-overs team to manage the players' physical and mental health.