With the victory in the T20 World Cup, Rahul Dravid’s time as India’s head coach came to an end. The 51-year-old was never able to touch the gold as a player, although coming close to success several times. He played for India as they made it to the finals of the 2003 ODI World Cup, but on the night of the tournament, Australia crushed them.
As a coach, Dravid witnessed a lot of broken hearts. India suffered defeats in the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup finals against Australia in 2023 and in the T20 World Cup semifinals against England in 2022, respectively, when he was in charge. After the India ODI World Cup, he was very almost out of a job as national team head coach, but one call from skipper Rohit Sharma turned things around.
In the last few years, Rohit and Rahul have dedicated their lives to improving Indian cricket, and as a result, the Men in Blue have risen to the top of all three game types. At home, they were unbeatable, routinely defeating formidable opponents like Australia, England, New Zealand, and South Africa.
India endured a shift in Test cricket, but the two handled things brilliantly and won a huge series at home against England. A significant accomplishment in and of itself, they also made it to the World Test Championship final.
Rahul’s departure from the Indian team was something the 37-year-old had previously expressed his desire for. When he did, though, the Indian captain wrote a heartfelt letter expressing how much he had looked up to Rahul as a child and how special it was for him to be able to share the dressing room with the great player.
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“Like billions of others, I have looked up to you since I was a child, but I was fortunate enough to be able to work with you this closely.” Although you are a true legend in our sport, you left all of your honours and accomplishments behind to serve as our coach and establish a rapport with us that allowed us all to feel free to talk to you about anything. I have gained so much knowledge from you, and I will always treasure each memory. On Instagram, Rohit shared a post.
He also noted how Rahul is referred to as his “work wife” by his wife Ritika, and Rohit said it is an honour to do the same for him.
“I’m fortunate to be able to call you my work wife, as my wife does. The privilege of being able to call you a friend, coach, and confidant has been truly amazing, Rahul bhai said.
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