T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma surprised by Rahul Dravid’s announcement – Team India are ushering into a new era as the BCCI announced the appointment of Rahul Dravid as the new head coach of the senior cricket team. The former Indian captain will take over from incumbent Ravi Shastri, whose term ends after the ongoing T20 World Cup. The timing of the announcement took everyone by surprise, with BCCI releasing a statement on the same midway through India’s game against Afghanistan.
T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma surprised by Rahul Dravid’s announcement, says ‘Had no idea, look forward to working with him’
Rohit Sharma revealed that Rahul Dravid’s appointment as the new Team India coach took everyone by surprise as they were in action against Afghanistan. The Indian vice-captain added that the team and the players were looking forward to working under the former Indian captain, whose first assignment will be the series against New Zealand. Speaking in his press conference, Rohit Sharma said, “We were playing the game (against Afghanistan), so I had no idea (about it). Congratulations to him (Rahul Dravid) for coming back in a different capacity in the Indian team, we look forward to work with him.”
Rohit Sharma further heaped praise on Rahul Dravid, who has an illustrious CV as a player and as a coach. The Hit-Man added, “He (Dravid) is a stalwart of Indian cricket and it will be nice working with him in future.” Incidentally, it was Rahul Dravid who handed Rohit Sharma his debut cap in ODIs way back in 2007, during the one-off ODI against Ireland.
T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma surprised by Rahul Dravid’s announcement, says ‘Had no idea, look forward to working with him’
Meanwhile, Rahul Dravid was delighted to take on the job and looks forward to working with Rohit Sharma and Co. when he assumes the post. Dubbed as The Wall during his playing days, Dravid has been in coaching since hanging up his boots in 2013 from all forms of cricket, and was the interim coach during India’s tourof SriLanka in August.
“It is an absolute honour to be appointed as the new Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team and I am really looking forward to this role. Under Mr Shastri, the team has done very well, and I hope to work with the team to take this forward,” said Dravid in a statement released by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
“Having worked closely with most of the boys either at NCA, U19 and India A setup, I know they have the passion and desire to improve every day. There are some marquee multi-team events in the next two years, and I look forward to working with the players and the support staff to achieve our potential,” he added.
Rahul Dravid’s first assignment will be India’s series against New Zealand, starting after the T20 World Cup.