Rahul Dravid appointed head coach of Indian men’s team – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Rahul Dravid has been appointed the head coach of the Indian men’s senior team.

The former India captain was unanimously appointed as the head coach by the Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Sulakshana Naik and RP Singh. The former India captain will take charge from the upcoming home series against New Zealand.

The T20 World Cup was Ravi Shastri’s last assignment before his term as head coach gets over. Dravid will take charge from the upcoming home series against New Zealand. The BCCI had invited applications for the position of head coach on 26 October. The board congratulated Shastri and the coaching staff for their successful tenures.

Dravid, who was working as the head of National Cricket Academy, has been appointed for a period of two years till the 2023 50-over World Cup in India.

The 47-year-old Dravid, one of the greatest to have played for India, was the only choice for BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah, who had called him in Dubai and convinced him to apply for the position.

Once Dravid had applied, the BCCI didn’t even need to look at any other application.

“The Board congratulates Mr Shastri (former Team Director & Head Coach), Mr B Arun (Bowling Coach), Mr R. Sridhar (Fielding Coach) and Mr Vikram Rathour (Batting Coach) on a successful tenure,”the BCCI said in a statement. “Under Shastri, the Indian Cricket Team adopted a bold and fearless approach and performed creditably both in home and away conditions. India climbed to the top position in the Test format and made it to the final of the inaugural World Test Championship in England.”

BCCI president welcomed the appointment of Dravid as head coach and hoped that he will take Indian cricket to new heights.

“The BCCI welcomes Rahul Dravid as the Head Coach of India’s senior men team,” Ganguly said in a statement. “Rahul has had an illustrious playing career and is one of the greats of the game. He has also served Indian cricket as Head of National Cricket Academy (NCA) with distinction. Rahul’s effort at the NCA has nurtured several young cricketing talents who have gone on to represent the country at the international stage. I am hopeful that his new stint will take Indian cricket to new heights.”

Dravid said that he is looking forward to the role and carry forward the good work done by Shastri.”It is an absolute honour to be appointed as the new Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team and I am really looking forward to this role,” Dravid said in a statement. “Under Mr Shastri, the team has done very well, and I hope to work with the team to take this forward. Having worked closely with most of the boys either at NCA, U19 and India A setup, I know they have the passion and desire to improve every day. There are some marquee multi-team events in the next two years, and I look forward to working with the players and the support staff to achieve our potential.”

With PTI inputs