"Honestly, I didn’t want to do anything different" - Rahul Dravid opens up on India's 2023 ODI and 2024 T20 World Cup campaigns
Former Team India head coach Rahul Dravid admitted not wanting to change anything from the 2023 ODI World Cup to the 2024 T20 World Cup despite the former ending in heartbreak. The Men in Blue enjoyed an incredible run in the ODI World Cup, winning 10 consecutive games to reach the final.
However, they suffered an agonizing six-wicket defeat in the summit clash against Australia to finish empty-handed. Fast forward to the recently concluded T20 World Cup and India enjoyed a similar unbeaten run that culminated with them also holding the trophy.
Speaking about what changed between the two events at the CEAT Cricket Rating awards ceremony, Dravid said:
"Honestly, I didn’t want to do anything different. I think we ran a fantastic campaign in the one-day World Cup, Rohit and the team, everyone involved in that one-day World Cup, we ran a superb campaign. There’s nothing we could have done more in terms of our preparation, the planning, the execution of what we needed to do for 10 games in a row to dominate, to win the game we did, play the game we did."
"I did not want to change anything. If you’d asked me and we had a discussion with our support staff, we’d get together with the coaches and say, what do you think we should do differently?” “The common consensus (among the team) was we need to do exactly what we did. We need to create the same energy, create the same vibe, the same team atmosphere that we had and then just hope that on the day, we’ll have a little bit of luck," he added.
Dravid took over as India's head coach at the end of 2021 before signing off with the 2024 T20 World Cup triumph.
The T20 World Cup title was India's first in an ICC event since the 2013 Champions Trophy.
"I’ve never been a part of a World Cup as a player in India" - Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid was elated with the experience of being part of a World Cup at home during the ODI tournament last year, having never enjoyed the same as a player.
The Men in Blue ran through the competition by blowing out the other teams before faltering in the final.
"To travel all over this country and to be able to experience that joy and passion of the fans. I’ve never been a part of a World Cup as a player in India, but just the experience as a coach to go from city to city and just walk and see what this game meant to the people of this country was phenomenal. It was incredible," Dravid said at the CEAT Cricket Rating awards ceremony.
"I thought we ran a phenomenal campaign. We came unstuck in the final and Australia played better cricket than us on the day. They were a better team and congratulations (to them). That can happen in sport and that’s what sport is about," he added.
Batting first, India posted a sub-par 240 in the final, a total Australia chased down in 43 overs with six wickets in hand.
Dravid played in three ODI World Cups as a player from 1999 to 2007 but wasn't part of India's victorious 2011 campaign at home.