Sachin Tendulkar speaks about Rahul Dravid’s role as India coach for the Sri Lanka tour
Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar believes Rahul Dravid’s primary job will be to maintain a healthy atmosphere within the Indian team when he takes charge as head coach for the Sri Lanka tour next month. He also felt the role of a coach in international cricket is limited.
Dravid was the coach of the India A and the Under-19 sides for four years starting 2015. He was then appointed head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in 2019. The Indian legend will be coaching the Shikhar Dhawan-led India side for their limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka next month.
According to Tendulkar, the fact that most of the young Indian players have spent a considerable amount of time with Dravid will be beneficial.
“These players have spent enough time with Rahul, so they know him. A coach is someone who should keep a healthy atmosphere in the team and the dressing room, and Rahul will do that. At this level, unless there are weaknesses, you don’t need to coach the players. They all know how to hit a cover drive or bowl an outswinger. When somebody is struggling, that’s when someone of his experience will play a role. Otherwise, the team knows what they are supposed to do,” Tendulkar told the Times of India.
The Sri Lanka tour starts with the ODI leg on July 13. The teams will play three ODIs and three T20Is.
Shikhar Dhawan has been around for a long time: Tendulkar
The Indian selectors couldn’t pick a full-strength squad for the Sri Lanka tour as the senior members are in the United Kingdom for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. This will be immediately followed by a tour of England as well.
Speaking on the Indian side picked for Sri Lanka, Tendulkar believes the team has a good mix of youth and experience. He added that Dravid’s presence will further help the side.
“Shikhar Dhawan (skipper for the ODI, T20 series) has been around for 10 years. That’s a long enough period. The team is a nice mixture of experience and youth, and Rahul is around to help them without any doubt,” Tendulkar stated.
Regarded as two of the greatest cricketers of all time, Tendulkar and Dravid were a prolific batting pair for a decade and a half in international cricket. They amassed over 11,000 runs at the crease together at a partnership average of 48. Tendulkar and Dravid also stitched together 31 century stands.