India 'A' manager showers praise on coach Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid is one of those rare cricketers in the world who has gone on to fulfill the duties of a batsman, a wicket keeper, a fielder, even a bowler, a vice captain, a captain and now a mentor. But the role which would definitely challenge him the most would be that of coaching.
Indian cricketing legend, Sachin Tendulkar describes Dravid as ‘a perfect role-model for youngsters’. Dravid too felt the need to support youngsters and thus took up the coaching assignment for the India ‘A’ and the Indian U-19 teams in June this year, which was received with much support from the cricketing administration and former players.
Dravid has already impressed as a coach, by inspiring young talent in the squad, and even guided India ‘A’ team to victory in the tough tri-series last month which featured Australia ‘A’ and South Africa ‘A’. He also led them to victory in the recently concluded bi-lateral series involving Bangladesh ‘A’.
Dravid’s role as a coach is widely being appreciated and recognized by many pundits of the cricket world. Now, the India ’A’ manager M.V. Siva Reddy has come out in rich tribute and praise of the former captain, saying youngsters are immensely being inspired by the legend and learning the basics well. He also said that Dravid can still do a lot of good for Indian cricket.
“We can find a keen observer and advisor in Dravid, who can do a lot of good to the Indian cricket in the years to come. This experience is helpful for me to guide youngsters, who are learning cricket in Academies of Andhra Cricket Association”, said Reddy, who is also the vice president of Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) and a member of Information technology subcommittee of BCCI, to The Hindu.
“Associating with Indian team and working with coach Rahul Dravid is fantastic and both the players and coach were very cooperative throughout the series”, he continued, talking about the recent series against Bangladesh ‘A’, which India ‘A’ won 2-1.
In that particular series, played last week in Bengaluru, India ‘A’ played well, performed consistently in the batting, bowling and fielding departments, and eventually clinched the series, despite losing the second ODI.
Earlier last month, in Dravid’s maiden assignment as coach, India ‘A’ faced tough resistance from Australia ‘A’ and South Africa ‘A’ in Chennai. Despite the initial hiccups, India ‘A’ did manage to beat a strong Australia ‘A’ in the final, much to the delight of the coach.
Rahul Dravid is someone who hates the spotlight. One can only hope he continues to do a wonderful job from behind the scenes and produce more “Walls”, which is something that the Indian Cricket Team desperately needs.