As Rohit Sharma’s team prepares to take on Australia on October 8, Rahul Dravid, India’s head coach, is preparing for his first ODI World Cup campaign. This will be Dravid’s second ICC competition in charge of the senior team; last year, the Dravid-Rohit combination led India to a T20 World Cup semifinal exit following a 10-wicket defeat to England. In his new avatar, long after he retired from the international cricket, Rahul Dravid turned his full attention to leading India to the World Cup as a part of the management team. He even admitted that he had “forgotten” what it was like to play as a player.
Rahul Dravid had a remarkable cricketing career as a legendary batter for India. The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was a highly anticipated event, with cricket fans around the world eagerly awaiting India’s performance under the leadership of Rahul Dravid. India’s campaign at the 2007 World Cup was marred by unexpected losses, particularly at the hands of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The loss to Bangladesh in the opening match of the tournament was shocking and set the tone for India’s dismal performance. They also suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka, which led to India’s early exit from the tournament in the group stage. However, more than 16 years have passed since that fateful World Cup, and it’s clear that Dravid has moved beyond those difficult times.
Rahul Dravid Remembers India’s dismal Performance in the 2007 ODI World Cup
“It’s a long time since I was a player. I almost forgot that I was actually a cricket player at one stage to be very honest with you, I have moved on from that. I don’t think of myself as a player anymore. Maybe that’s the mind-space difference… I’m focused on helping the group to do the best they can. I mean in the end that’s the job of the support staff, the job of the coach really is to support the vision of the captain and help him execute his vision over the course of the next couple of months and hope we can do that really well.” Rahul Dravid said in a press conference ahead of India’s opener against Australia.
