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T20 World Cup 2024 Why ICC trophy is the biggest farewell gift to Dravid. Photo: X
In a video released by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on the Indian cricket team’s head coach Rahul Dravid’s journey, he says, “I have really enjoyed myself, I think it has been a great learning experience for me.”
He further explains, “The kind of people I have had the pleasure of working with, including my coaching staff and support staff, I think they are the fondest memories I will take back with me. Those connections are what will last longer after I forget and remember some of the results which include the wins and the losses.”
“”An eventful coaching journey in the words of #TeamIndia Head Coach Rahul Dravid, who highlights the moments created beyond the cricketing field
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 28, 2024
For a person who has devoted his life to learning and shies away from the outcomes, Dravid did exceedingly well as a player and a coach. But the fact that he has not had success in an ICC tournament is a loss not personally for him but for all the people of the nation who love the gentleman’s game.
When did Dravid come close to winning the ICC trophy?
Dravid’s career in ICC Tournaments
|
ICC Tournament |
Mat |
Inns |
NO |
100s |
50s |
4s |
6s |
HS |
Runs |
Avg |
S/R |
Ca |
St |
|
1997-1998 Akai-Singer Champions Trophy |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
31 |
31 |
31 |
68.89 |
0 |
0 |
|
1999 ICC World Cup |
8 |
8 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
49 |
1 |
145 |
461 |
65.86 |
85.53 |
2 |
0 |
|
2000-2001 ICC Knock-Out |
4 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
19 |
0 |
68* |
157 |
52.33 |
74.41 |
1 |
0 |
|
2002-2003 ICC Champions Trophy |
5 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
0 |
71 |
120 |
60 |
81.08 |
5 |
0 |
|
2002-2003 ICC World Cup |
11 |
10 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
21 |
1 |
62 |
318 |
63.6 |
64.11 |
15 |
1 |
|
2004 ICC Champions Trophy |
2 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
1 |
67 |
97 |
97 |
78.23 |
3 |
0 |
|
2006-2007 ICC Champions Trophy |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
13 |
0 |
52 |
105 |
35 |
78.95 |
3 |
0 |
|
2006-2007 ICC World Cup |
3 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
60 |
81 |
40.5 |
72.32 |
0 |
0 |
|
2009-2010 ICC Champions Trophy |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
76 |
80 |
40 |
76.19 |
2 |
0 |
|
Total |
40 |
35 |
9 |
2 |
12 |
129 |
4 |
145 |
1450 |
55.76 |
|
31 |
1 |
However, he was given the reins of the team in the 2007 ODI World Cup and to date that remains India’s worst-ever performance in an ODI World Cup since winning the Cup for the first time in 1983. That was in the West Indies and that is why it will be perfect timing to try and recreate a new memory for the Wall of Indian Cricket to remember the West Indies.
Sudden retirement from white-ball cricket
After voluntarily choosing not to play in the T20 World Cup 2007 and being sidelined from the ODI setup after the 2009 Champions Trophy, in August 2011, Dravid, after receiving a surprise recall during the ODI series against England, declared his retirement from ODIs as well as Twenty20 International (T20I).
It was in 2011 that India managed to win the ODI World Cup after a gap of 28 years. Once again, Dravid missed out. In March 2012, he announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket.
Did it as a U19 coach
Though he was not able to win the World Cup as a player, Dravid did it as a coach in 2018 after having failed to do it in the 2016 Under-19 World Cup when the Ishan Kishan-led team lost in the final to West Indies.
As a coach, Dravid was unable to win the ICC Test Championship, unable to lift the T20 World Cup 2022 and the ODI World Cup 2023. But he had the chance to repeat the feat of Under-19 in the T20 World Cup format and it was not a surprise that he repeated the feat.
The Cup would not be a gift very possessive for Dravid who looks to enjoy the moments and learn from them rather than delve into losses and wins, but it would be a tribute from the cricket-loving fraternity to a thorough gentleman who gave his all for the game he loved. Good boys do finish first, must be true for this wall of Indian cricket as well.
First Published: Jun 29 2024 | 11:57 PM IST