“Six captains in eight months; probably wasn’t the plan” - Rahul Dravid on challenges of being India’s head coach

Team India head coach Rahul Dravid has described his stint so far at the helm of the Men in Blue as "exciting" and "fun." He did admit that working with different captains over the last eight months has been challenging, but asserted that it’s been a good learning experience.

Dravid was appointed the new coach of the Indian team after Ravi Shastri’s tenure came to an end following the T20 World Cup in the UAE last year. He earlier served as India U19 and India A coach and was also the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

In an interview uploaded to bcci.tv, he shared his views on his journey as head coach of the senior Indian team so far. Speaking ahead of the fifth India-South Africa T20I in Bengaluru, Rahul Dravid said:

“It has been quite exciting. It’s been good fun I must say and challenging as well. (There have) probably been about six captains in the last eight months that I have had to work with. Probably wasn’t the plan when I first started.”

Attributing the constant changes to multiple factors, the Indian legend elaborated:

“It’s just the nature of COVID, the nature of the number of games we are playing, just managing the squad, managing the workload and a few retirements. A few changes in the captaincy as well, which means I have had to work with quite a few people over the last eight months, which in itself has been challenging but great fun as well.”

India are being led by Rishabh Pant in the ongoing T20I series against South Africa at home. KL Rahul was to captain the team after original skipper Rohit Sharma was rested, but he was ruled out due to injury a day ahead of the series.

Rahul led India during the ODIs in South Africa earlier this year as Sharma was unavailable. Meanwhile, all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been named captain of the T20I side which will take on Ireland in two matches towards the end of the month.

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“Good that a lot of other guys have got an opportunity to lead” - Rahul Dravid

According to Rahul Dravid, the fact that India have had multiple players captaining the side over the last few months will benefit the team in the long run. He explained:

“It is good that a lot of other guys have got an opportunity to lead and for us to create more leaders in the group as well. It’s been good. As a group, we are learning and constantly improving. Looking to get better. We've had the opportunity over the last eight months to try out a lot of different people.”

Meanwhile, India lost the toss in the deciding T20I of the series against South Africa and were asked to bat first. The start of the match has been delayed due to rain. The five-match series is currently tied at 2-2.