Dravid reveals why he continued as India coach despite CWC23 defeat

Rahul Dravid has revealed the reason behind continuing as head coach of India despite their defeat in the ODI World Cup 2023 final against Australia.

Dravid was hailed for playing a pivotal role in helping India lift the recently concluded T20 World Cup trophy.

However, he revealed that he had no plan to continue as India’s head coach after his two-year term ended at the end of ODI Cricket World Cup 2023.

According to the former batter, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma gave him a call to change his mind about coaching India.

“Ro, thank you very much for making that call to me in November and asking [me] to continue,” Rahul Dravid said.

“I think it’s been such a privilege and a pleasure to work with each and every one of you, but Ro, also thanks for the time. There is a lot of time we have to chat, we have to discuss, we have to agree, we have to disagree at times, but thank you so very much,” he added.

It is pertinent to mention that India made it the finals of both the ICC World Test Championship and ICC ODI Cricket World Cup in 2023, however, they faced defeats in both games.

Dravid finally added a trophy to his portfolio as a coach with the T20 World Cup 2024 trophy on June 29.

“I’m not usually short of words but on a day like today, for me to be part of this, I could not be more grateful. For the respect, for the kindness, for the effort that each and everyone of you have shown to me, to my coaching staff, to my support staff,” he said.

While BCCI has not named his successor, former batter VVS Laxman will coach the Indian side set to play a five-match T20I series in Zimbabwe starting July 6.