Rahul Dravid Report Card: The World Cup 2023 is Rahul Dravid’s only saving grace as India suffers humiliation in the WTC Final on Sunday. Rohit Sharma And Co suffered a 209-run defeat at The Oval to crown Australia WTC Champions. It is yet another indelible mark on his legacy as a coach, with the former Indian captain yet to guide his team to significant success away from home. 18 months into the job, Rahul Dravid has a catalogue of poor judgement calls, error-prone tactics and inconsistencies making World Cup success paramount. A failure to do so is likely to cost him the job come November.
India are yet to lift an ICC trophy since their success in the 2013 Champions Trophy. Dravid was backed by the BCCI to end their barren run. But the former captain has failed to deliver the success promised. While a change is not in order, Dravid — India’s costliest coach at Rs 10 Crore per year contract — will be under pressure to deliver the World Cup. The ex-India captain had two shots at Glory, but India failed to make it count.
Rahul Dravid coaching record: How India have fared under The Wall?
| Opponent | Venue | Format | Result | Captain |
| NewZealand | Home | Test | 1-0 Win | Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane |
| NewZealand | Home | T20I | 3-0 Win | Rohit Sharma |
| SouthAfrica | Away | Test | 2-1 Loss | Virat Kohli, KL Rahul |
| SouthAfrica | Away | ODI | 3-0 Loss | KL Rahul |
| WestIndies | Home | T20I | 3-0 Win | Rohit Sharma |
| WestIndies | Home | ODI | 3-0 WIn | Rohit Sharma |
| SriLanka | Home | Test | 2-0 win | Rohit Sharma |
| SriLanka | Home | T20I | 3-0 win | Rohit Sharma |
| SouthAfrica | Home | T20I | 2-2 Draw | Rishabh Pant |
| England | Away | One-off Test | 1-0 Loss | Jasprit Bumrah |
| England | Away | T20I | 2-1 win | Rohit Sharma |
| England | Away | ODI | 2-1 win | Rohit Sharma |
| WestIndies | Away | T20I | 4-1 win | Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya |
| Asia Cup 2022 | UAE | T20I | Super 4 exit | Rohit Sharma |
| Australia | Home | T20I | 2-1 win | Rohit Sharma |
| SouthAfrica | Home | T20I | 2-1 win | Rohit Sharma |
| T20 World Cup 2022 | Australia | T20I | Semifinal Exit | Rohit Sharma |
| Bangladesh | Away | Test | 2-0 Win | Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul |
| Bangladesh | Away | ODI | 2-1 Loss | Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul |
| SriLanka | Home | ODI | 3-0 Win | Rohit Sharma |
| SriLanka | Home | T20I | 2-1 Win | Hardik Pandya |
| NewZealand | Home | ODI | 3-0 win | Rohit Sharma |
| NewZealand | Home | T20I | 2-1 Win | Hardik Pandya |
| Australia | Home | Test | 2-1 Win | Rohit Sharma |
| Australia | Home | ODI | 2-1 Loss | Rohit Sharma |
| WTC Final (Australia) | England | Test | Lost by 209 runs | Rohit Sharma |
While India has found plenty of success in the Bilateral series under Rahul Dravid, most wins have come against teams ranked lower in the ICC Rankings. The team also struggled to be consistently dominant in any series, even losing the home ODI series to Australia and the series in Bangladesh.
The Asia Cup, and T20 World Cup humiliations remain fresh in memory, while the World Test Championship Final added another heartbreak to Dravid’s unwanted list. Series defeat in South Africa, the one-off Test lost at Edgbaston makes the case of India to be home track bullies. In fact, India have only lost 1 of the 15 series they have played under Dravid in India.
In comparison, Ravi Shastri led India to memorable wins overseas, especially in Australia and England. However, his failure to lead India to an ICC trophy ultimately cost him his job. Dravid has fallen short in both tournaments he has led India in as coach – the World Test Championship and the T20 World Cup.
Rahul Dravid Report Card: What has gone wrong for Rahul Dravid?
- Inconsistency in the selection, and game plans.
- ‘Safe’ approach to games
- Player injuries, workload management.
- Lack of role clarity among players.
- Excessive experimentation with a lack of results.
- Multiple captains
- Persistence with underperforming players.
Just like he played his cricket, Rahul Dravid has taken a safe, risk-averse approach to all formats. It has invariably hurt India’s chances. While Rohit Sharma continues to stress aggressive cricket, Dravid hasn’t been assertive enough in his tactics. His willingness to shield and protect his underperforming stars has cost him dearly – twice.
The decision to leave out Ravichandran Ashwin for the WTC Final clearly backfired. Nathan Lyon and Ravindra Jadeja picked up 7 of the 18 wickets in the second innings. Head and Smith battered the Indian attack into submission with centuries. To be blunt, Rahul Dravid has never looked convincing as a tactician in the 18 months since he took over
‘Failure to blood the new generation’
When Dravid was roped in, it was expected that the next generation of stars will don the Blue. Dravid had first-hand experience with the India A and U19 players but failed to create a second line of players. Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer’s injuries meant he went shorthanded into the WTC Final.
7 of the 11 players in the 2023 WTC Final played the game in 2021 as well. Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, KS Bharat and Umesh Yadav were the only changes made to the lineup. Siraj and Shardul perhaps are the only players on merit, while Yadav and Bharat made it to the Playing XI thanks to injuries. The same applies to Ajinkya Rahane, who made a comeback after 18 months.
India persisted with Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul despite their poor numbers over the years. India’s backup plans included Suryakumar Yadav who played a solitary Test in February. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ishan Kishan travelled to England but are yet to make their debut. His failure to show the mirror to the senior players and build a succession line is his biggest failure in Test cricket.
Dravid did make some tough calls, pulling down the curtains on the careers of Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha. He will have to do the same with a few other seniors, with India’s top 6 barring Shubman Gill all in and around 35.
‘World Cup 2023 final hurdle’
Dravid survived the sack but a failure at the World Cup at home will be unacceptable. Duncan Fletcher, Anil Kumble and Ravi Shastri all lost their jobs failing to deliver success in an ICC event. In that case, Dravid has had some luck, going 0-2 in ICC tournaments. The World Cup will be his final chance to make amends and secure an extension to his term.
He was grilled by former teammates Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh following the WTC Final loss. The Anti-Dravid sentiment is on the rise in Indian cricket and ending India’s wait for an ICC title will shut the critics. Not lifting the World Cup title did not hamper his legacy as a player, but a failure to do so as a coach will make his record untenable.
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