5 huge statements made by Rahul Dravid in recent chat with R Ashwin ft. Rohit Sharma

Indian cricket legend Rahul Dravid recently joined former spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for a candid chat. The episode was featured on Ashwin’s YouTube show, “Kutti Stories with Ash.”

Dravid enjoyed an illustrious cricketing career and remains India’s third-highest run-scorer across formats. In 504 matches, he amassed 24,064 runs at an average of 45.57, including 48 centuries and 145 fifties. Later, as head coach, he guided India to their memorable 2024 T20 World Cup triumph.

In his conversation with Ashwin, Dravid reflected on his journey as both a player and a coach. Here’s a look at five of the most significant insights he shared during the chat.

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5 huge statements made by Rahul Dravid in recent chat with R Ashwin

#1 “There was this group of four-five guys coming through at that point of time” - Rahul Dravid on his retirement from Test cricket

In his conversation with Ravichandran Ashwin, Rahul Dravid opened up about retiring from Test cricket. He officially announced it on March 9, 2012, bringing the curtains down on a remarkable career that spanned 164 Tests, during which he scored 13,288 runs at an average of 52.31, with 36 centuries and 63 fifties.

Dravid revealed that after the conclusion of the 2011-12 Australia series, he felt it was the right moment to make a decision about his future, saying:

“I think I just knew at that stage that it was time to move on. I knew actually at the end of that series, it’s just that I didn’t want to take an emotional decision at that point of time. I thought, let me just… if this is my feeling and this is what I’m thinking at this point of time, let me actually… there was no cricket after that in terms of Test cricket, and I said, let me go back home and actually spend three weeks in my house and be very sure that this is not an emotional decision, but this is a decision that I’m clear about.”

“I actually went home and spent two-three weeks with the family, and while I was there, I realized that I didn’t want to go back and play. I could see a lot of young players coming through. At that time, people like Virat and Rohit, Virat had just had a great series, Rohit actually hadn’t played a Test match in that particular game, Puji had got some runs but was coming back from an ACL injury, and Rahane was doing really well. So there was this group of four-five guys coming through at that point of time, and I could clearly see that they were going to be the next generation of young Indian cricketers. And I felt I had done my time. I felt I had played as much as I could and taken the team as far as I could,” he added.

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#2 “I happened to bump into him somewhere” - Rahul Dravid shares career advice he received from World Cup-winning captain

Rahul Dravid also recalled the career advice he once received from 1983 World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev. The legendary all-rounder had encouraged him to explore different options before making any major decision. Sharing the experience, Dravid said:

“Kapil Dev gave me an advice. I was just finishing my career, and I happened to bump into him somewhere, and we were having a conversation. And Kapil paaji said, ‘Rahul, don’t make a decision on what you want to do straightaway.’”

"As you get close to the end, you think, Oh, what next? What should I do? It’s natural just the way we are. We don’t want to be sitting at home; you want to be contributing, you want to be doing things. And he said, ‘Don’t commit to something unless you are very sure. Experience a lot of different things for a few years and then see what it is that you really like,’” he added.

Rahul Dravid continued:

“And I was actually quite lucky because I was playing for Rajasthan at that point of time, and at that time, Shane Warne left. In the second and third years of my career with Rajasthan Royals, I was actually playing the role of almost like a coach-captain. That was a kind of system at the Rajasthan Royals in those days. You didn’t really appoint a coach, so to speak, and Warne led the team and sort of did a lot of the things around it, and I sort of just continued in that over the next couple of years."

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#3 “We still needed a bit of luck at the end” - Rahul Dravid shares emotions from the 2024 T20 World Cup final

Former India head coach Rahul Dravid also reflected on the 2024 T20 World Cup final against South Africa, which marked his last assignment. India, batting first, put up 176 runs on the board, while South Africa reached 81/3 at the halfway stage. Recalling the emotions during that phase, Dravid said:

“I remember thinking that when Quinton de Kock was batting with Klaasen and it was seven overs to go, there was that phase and you’re thinking, we need to get Quinton out, it’ll be really good to get Quinton out here. Because one of the things we had discussed about South Africa was that after six, Jansen was playing seven, so they were a batsman light. There’s no question about it, we could see that. But they had been playing so well in the tournament that it did not really mean something.”

“And you’re thinking, if we can just at this stage get Quinton out, it will mean that seven overs of Miller remain, and the target was still gettable. But with Miller and Klaasen, you get one wicket and that game could change. And Arshdeep gets Quinton out and you’re thinking, wow, we are in this game. And then in the very next over, Klaasen kind of, you know, hits… yeah, shifts the game completely in their favor when he hits sixes off Axar,” he added.

Dravid went on to recall how Heinrich Klaasen took on Axar Patel, smashing him for 24 runs in an over. However, the Indian pacers pulled things back, and Suryakumar Yadav’s stunning catch eventually turned the game in India’s favor. Rahul Dravid added:

“So it happened so fast. You’re just on a high at that moment and thinking, wow, this is great, a couple of tight overs here and we’ve got a couple of overs of Bumrah. And you’re sort of thinking tactically at that point. Then suddenly, at the end of the over, you’re almost stunned and you’re thinking, oh, this is crazy, this is kind of gone, what do we do next?”

“And yeah, I think that was more actually the thought, to be very honest. It was not like, oh, it’s gone. It was more like, still, a wicket, yeah, let’s get Bumrah back. I mean, that was the whole time, that’s what Rohit did, right? Got Bumrah back, bowled a tight over, and then Hardik bowled a really good ball to get Klaasen out and things kind of changed. And we still needed a bit of luck at the end, and Surya had to take an incredible catch with, you know, two inches. Amazing stuff,” he continued.

India clinched the match by seven runs, securing their second T20 World Cup crown and their first since 2007.

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#4 “I just enjoyed getting to know him as a person” - Rahul Dravid shares his experience of working with Rohit Sharma

In the same conversation, Rahul Dravid also spoke about his bond and experience of working with India’s current ODI skipper, Rohit Sharma. The 52-year-old highlighted how Rohit was clear about his vision from day one and the way he led the team. Rahul Dravid said:

“I think it was really good. I really, firstly, I think he… the thing with Rohit that I think I always felt was that he, first, deeply cared about the team, and he was very clear, right from the first day, about how he wanted to run the team and what was important to him. And that’s really important in any relationship with the captain and a coach. Especially the way I coach, I always like to believe that it should be the captain’s team, right? I’ve been a player and I’ve been a captain as well. But a captain has to lead it in terms of the direction he wants to go in, and you have to support him and help him in that.”

“And of course, you need to sometimes help a captain in terms of getting that clarity and understanding what is required. But with Rohit, I thought he was very clear about what he wanted from the team, how he wanted the environment to be, how he wanted the atmosphere to be, how he wanted things to run. I think he had had so much experience over the years, it really helped, right? He was very clear on those things,” he added.

Rahul Dravid continued:

“I really enjoyed it, and I think more than anything, I just enjoyed getting to know him as a person and chatting with him. I think there were a lot of times in our conversations we were comfortable enough to be able to sit and talk with each other without having to only talk about cricket. It just felt easy spending time with him in the evening, having a meal. It wasn’t forced, it wasn’t like, oh, we have to sit and convince you to have a meeting there. It didn’t feel forced, and it was nice, it was really nice.”

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#5 “Probably challenged my off stump more than anyone ever did” - Rahul Dravid reveals the toughest bowler he faced during his career

Rahul Dravid also reflected on the most challenging bowlers he faced throughout his cricketing career, sharing:

“As a spinner, I think Muralitharan was the best bowler that I played against spin. Great skill, ability to swing the ball both ways, especially around the wicket, and starts getting the doosra away from you. Again, someone who never tired, bowled long overs. Just kept at you. He was a phenomenal spinner.”

“I would say as a fast bowler, it has to be Glenn McGrath. I kind of played Wasim and Waqar at the back end of their career… and they were really good. But I played McGrath at his peak. He was a phenomenal bowler. Probably challenged my off stump more than anyone ever did. Just the level of fitness, and he was able to come at you the whole day. Great faster bowlers than him, but in terms of consistency and skill, I thought for me he was the toughest bowler I ever played,” Rahul Dravid added.

Rahul Dravid is poised to be in the spotlight once again during IPL 2026 as he leads Rajasthan Royals (RR) in his ongoing coaching role.