Has Rahul Dravid done better than Ravi Shastri as India's head coach?
Current Team India head coach and batting legend Rahul Dravid is celebrating his 51st birthday on Thursday, January 11. Regarded as one the finest batters to have played the game, Dravid featured in 164 Tests, 344 ODIs, and a solitary T20I in a career spanning 16 years - 1996 to 2012.
A resolute right-handed batter, he amassed 13,288 runs in Test matches at an average of 52.31 with 36 hundreds and 63 fifties. There was a time when his credentials in limited-overs cricket were questioned. But he silenced his critics and ended up amassing 10,889 runs at an average of 39.16 with 12 hundreds and 83 half-centuries.
As captain, the birthday boy led India in 25 Tests, scoring 1,736 at an average of 44.51. He captained India to eight Test wins. Dravid also led the Men in Blue in 79 ODIs, scoring 2,658 runs at an average of 42.19. India won 42 of the ODIs he captained in.
Post-retirement, Dravid coached the U-19 and India A teams and was also the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) before taking over as head coach of the senior Indian men’s cricket team.
Dravid was appointed head coach of the Indian team in November 2021, succeeding Ravi Shastri, who was in charge from 2017 to 2021.
Both have been impressive in their respective stints. But in this feature, we analyze whether Dravid has done better than Shastri as India's head coach.
Key achievements and disappointments under Dravid and Shastri’s coaching tenure
If we look at Dravid’s ongoing stint, India reached the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) as well as the ODI World Cup in 2023. They were highly impressive in the build-up to the mega clash in both events.
The Men in Blue were undefeated in the ODI World Cup at home before succumbing to the pressure in the final against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Before that, India faltered badly in the 2022 T20 World Cup as they were crushed by England by 10 wickets in the semi-final in Adelaide. India have been impressive in bilateral series, but they are yet to capture an ICC crown under Dravid’s tenure as head coach.
Under the 51-year-old, India also missed two great opportunities to register their maiden Test series triumph in South Africa. In 2021-22, they began with a famous 113-run win in the first Test at SuperSport Park in Centurion. However, India lost the next two Tests by seven wickets each to concede the series 2-1. To make matters worse, they were crushed 3-0 in the subsequent ODI series.
India recently visited South Africa for a multi-format tour. However, while they leveled the T20I series and won the ODI series (not coached by Dravid), they only managed to square the two-match Test series 1-1.
Several critics believed that under the Rohit Sharma-Dravid combine, India had their best chance to win a Test series in South Africa against a not-so-strong hosts. However, they capitulated in the first Test in Centurion before fighting back brilliantly in Cape Town.
Shifting focus to Shastri, under him as coach, India excelled in the Test format. His biggest achievement was undoubtedly being part of two Test series wins in Australia. India registered their maiden Test series triumph Down Under in 2018-19 and clinched another famous win in 2020-21, even though a majority of their big names were injured.
Like under Dravid’s tenure, though, India failed to register a Test series win in South Africa, going down 2-1 in 2017-18 despite having a strong side led by Virat Kohli. Looking at their performance in limited overs cricket, they did flourish in bilateral series, but India did not win any ICC crown under Shastri’s tenure either.
They lost the semi-final of the 2019 ODI World Cup to New Zealand in Manchester and went down to the same team by eight wickets in the 2021 World Test Championship final in Southampton.
The Men in Blue also had a forgettable run in the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE. They failed to reach the semi-finals following massive losses to Pakistan and New Zealand in their first two games of the tournament.
Comparing their legacy as coaches
If we look at Shastri first, India built a robust fast bowling attack under his tenure as coach with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, and Umesh Yadav among others combining to win India Test matches especially in overseas conditions. Dravid and company continue to reap fruits of the same, with Mohammed Siraj replacing the likes of Ishant and Umesh.
Under Dravid, India have witnessed several young batters flourish. The likes of Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rinku Singh to name a few, have taken international cricket by storm over the past couple of seasons.
They are yet unfinished products but have given enough indications of their potential at the big stage. It has helped that Dravid has worked with several such players at the India A and U-19 levels.
If we compare the coaching stints of Dravid and his predecessor Shastri, neither has been able to end India’s ICC title drought. Dravid would hope that changes during the T20 World Cup later in the year. Under Shastri, though, India won two Test series in Australia. With Dravid in charge, India lost one and drew a Test series in South Africa.
There isn’t much to choose between Shastri and Dravid as India coaches. As of now, the former is slightly ahead with regard to his list of achievements. However, a better assessment of Dravid’s tenure vis-à-vis Shastri can only be made once his stint as Team India’s head coach comes to an end.