"We only talk about Ganguly or Dhoni and now Kohli” - When Gautam Gambhir picked an Indian legend as the ‘most underrated leader’
Back in 2020, Current Team India coach Gautam Gambhir picked his predecessor and Team India batting ace Rahul Dravid as one of the most underrated leaders in Indian cricket. Prior to Gambhir, Rahul Dravid was the coach of Team India from 2021 to 2024.
While Rahul Dravid is known for his versatility across ODIs and Test cricket, he was also someone who led India and achieved success. He took on the mantle following Sourav Ganguly's sacking and led Team India to wins against West Indies and England.
Speaking in an interaction, Gambhir had high praise towards Rahul Dravid, calling him the 'most underrated leader'. He said:
"I made my ODI debut under Sourav Ganguly, I made my Test debut under Rahul Dravid. It is so unfortunate that we do not give enough credit for his captaincy as well. We only talk about Sourav Ganguly or MS Dhoni and now about Virat Kohli. But Rahul Dravid has been a fabulous captain for India."
Gambhir also mentioned India's ODI winning streak under Dravid's leadership, adding:
"Even his records, he is probably the most underrated cricketer and probably the most underrated leader as well. We won in England, we won in West Indies and we won 14 or 15 games on the trot.
"But look at Rahul Dravid as a cricketer. You asked him to open the batting in Test cricket and he did that. He kept wickets for India, he batted as a finisher. He did everything Indian cricket or a captain asked him to do and that is the kind of role model you want."
Rahul Dravid's records as the skipper of Team India
Rahul Dravid led Team India from 2000 to 2007. While he was formally appointed as the captain in 2006, he was often called on to lead in the absence of regular skipper Sourav Ganguly. He led India in 79 ODIs and won 42 games, having a win percentage of 53.16.
Rahul Dravid was also the captain of the squad that played in the 2007 ICC Men's ODI World Cup in the West Indies. Playing in Group B alongside Sri Lanka, Bermuda and Bangladesh, they lost two games and won the solitary game against Bermuda. Following the loss, Dravid handed over the reins to MS Dhoni.