Just a few months back, India was on the look-out for a coach for the national side with the aim of helping Virat Kohli and his troops get through the transition period. Anil Kumble has been a stellar influence on the side, with triple Test series wins against West Indies, New Zealand and England to show.Yet, there has been another individual, who, much like his international career, has been quietly working in the background, churning out the next generation of Indian cricket and slowly handing them over to the senior side. Players like Karun Nair and Jayant Yadav, who are owning the international stage, learned the nuances of their trade under Dravid before taking flight to the next level.
The India U-19 team, coached by Dravid, won their third consecutive Asia Cup title, beating hosts Sri Lanka by 34 runs to clinch the tournament. Riding on the knocks of Himanshu Rana and Shubham Gill, the Indian team compiled 273 on the board, before restricting the Lankans to 239 and complete a comfortable win. Earlier this year, the senior side had also clinched the Asia Cup title in Bangladesh, while the women’s team repeated the feat a month ago in Malaysia. The current team is captained by Abhishek Sharma, who represents the Punjab Colts. Also in the squad is Prithvi Shaw, who set a record for the highest form by any batsman in organised cricket since 1901 when he scored 546 in a Harris Shield game, a record that was surpassed recently by Pranav Dhanawade.
As soon as the news came, several personalities took to Twitter to congratulate the team, and acknowledge the efforts of the coach.
Virat Kohli
Anil Kumble
Harbhajan Singh
Ajinkya Rahane
Rahul Sharma
VVS Laxman
Virender Sehwag
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