"At one stage we gave up" - Sourav Ganguly reveals how he convinced Rahul Dravid to be India's head coach
Sourav Ganguly has revealed that his attempt at convincing Rahul Dravid to be the Indian men's team's head coach wasn't an easy one.
The BCCI president said at one point he and secretary Jay Shah had given up on their constant appeals to Rahul Dravid, only to see something "trigger" a change of mind for him later.
Sourav Ganguly's comments were recorded in an interview with Boria Majumdar on the show 'Backstage with Boria', a clip of which was released on Sunday.
In it, the former captain explained that his long-time teammate wasn't ready to take up the demanding and travel-extensive role because of his young family.
Sourav Ganguly said:
"We had Rahul in mind for a long period of time, both me and Jay, but he wasn't agreeing because of the time away from home [and] because doing a national team's job is [about being] on the road for about 8-9 months in a year and he has two young children.
"At one stage we gave up, he was appointed as the head of NCA (National Cricket Academy, Bengaluru) to look after it and take things forward. We had done all the interviews and everything, his interview and application, and he was appointed at the NCA. But even after he was appointed, we still kept insisting."
Rahul Dravid only agreed after some more personal calls from Sourav Ganguly and when he was conveyed that the players, too, had an "inclination" towards him.
Sourav Ganguly added:
"And when we spoke to the players also [about] what sort of person they want, you could clearly see that, you know, there was an inclination to Rahul so we communicated that to him. I spoke to him personally many times [saying] that, 'I know it's hard but give it a try for two years, and if you find it too hard then we'll see another way'.
"Luckily he agreed and I don't know what triggered the change in his mind but he agreed and I think this is the best BCCI could have done in terms of coaching once Ravi [Shastri] left."
At one point, the @BCCI had given up convincing Dravid to taken on the role of Head Coach. @SGanguly99 shares with me, how some personal conversations helped convince him otherwise & what this means for Indian cricket. #bwb #revsportz https://t.co/7t1R1yH6mk
Rahul Dravid replaced Ravi Shastri after the T20 World Cup 2021. His resume included an extended stint as the NCA chief and head coach for India's Under-19 and 'A' team setup to go alongside his illustrious cricketing career.
"Ravi Shastri did a fantastic job" - Sourav Ganguly
Stumps on Day 3 of the 2nd Test.
#TeamIndia 5 wickets away from victory.
Scorecard - bit.ly/IndvNZ2ndTest #INDvNZ @Paytm https://t.co/C7luRRTwNk
Sourav Ganguly also praised Ravi Shastri for his contribution, defending the lack of world titles in his cabinet by pointing to India's success in Australia and England.
The 49-year-old said:
"I thought Ravi did a fantastic job for a long period of time. Yes, people might say that we did not win world titles but other than that if you look around the way we have played in Australia, in England, in Test cricket, in bilaterals, I think we have done exceptionally well."
In his stint so far, Rahul Dravid has seen India defeat New Zealand 3-0 at home in a T20I series and draw the first of two Tests in Kanpur. The team is currently dominating the second Test in Mumbai and looks set for a massive win.