India's head coach, Rahul Dravid, concluded his two-year contract on Sunday with a bittersweet ending, as Australia secured a six-wicket victory in the World Cup 2023 final in Ahmedabad. Dravid, instrumental in steering India to two ICC tournament finals and one semi-final, faced disappointment as the highly anticipated World Cup journey ended on a sombre note.
During the post-match media conference, Dravid addressed queries about his future as India's coach. The former skipper and ace batter revealed that discussions with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) regarding his coaching role had not taken place. Dravid emphasized the need for time to reflect on his future endeavours.
“I haven’t thought about it. I’ve just come off a game. I had no time to think about this and no time to reflect on this. Yeah, I will when I get the time to do that,” expressed Dravid.
The 50-year-old cricket legend, affectionately nicknamed "Mr Dependable," conveyed that, at this juncture, his focus was entirely on the concluded World Cup campaign, leaving no room for considerations about his future.
““To be honest, I am not really someone who’s going to judge and analyse myself. I was really proud to work with, I think, the players that I worked with over the last two years in all the formats, it’s been a privilege,” Dravid added
Remaining non-committal about his potential role as India's coach for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies next year, Dravid emphasized his concentration on the recently concluded tournament.
“Honestly, I haven’t thought about it. I think all our campaign, all our energies were focused on this match, focused on this tournament, and focused till here. And I haven’t actually given it any thought or I have no plans; I have had no plans of what’s going to happen in the future,” clarified Dravid.
Dravid took a moment to commend the exceptional leadership of skipper Rohit Sharma, acknowledging Sharma's commitment and contributions to the team. “He’s been an exceptional leader. You know, Rohit’s really led this team fantastically well. He’s certainly got the dressing room; he’s given so much of his time and energy in the dressing room to the boys.”
“He has always been available for any of our conversations, any of our meetings. Sometimes there’s been a lot of planning, a lot of strategy that goes in. He’s always committed to those things. He’s given a lot of his personal time, energy into this campaign,” he said.
As Dravid's coaching chapter concludes, the cricketing community awaits updates on his potential future involvement with the Indian team, while speculations arise about the appointment of a new head coach.
ICC WORLD CUP 2023 final highlights
Despite being the tournament favourites and playing on home soil, India faced a crushing defeat at the hands of the Australian team, who claimed their record-extending sixth 50-overs World Cup title with a six-wicket victory.
Australia's captain, Pat Cummins, made a strategic decision at the toss, opting to bowl first with the expectation that the pitch would become easier to bat on as the game progressed and that the evening dew would hinder India's bowling attack. This move paid off as India's formidable batting lineup struggled against Australia's incisive bowling. India managed to score 240 runs in their allotted 50 overs, a total that was considered modest given the high stakes of the match. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul tried to stabilize the innings with their half-centuries, but the Australian bowlers, particularly Pat Cummins (2/34), Josh Hazlewood (2/60), and Mitchell Starc (3/55), kept the pressure on, exploiting reverse swing and the slow pitch to their advantage. Australia's chase was initially rattled by India's Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, who reduced the Aussies to 47-3. However, Travis Head's magnificent century (137 off 120 balls) and Marnus Labuschagne's steady 58 not out turned the tide in Australia's favour. The duo shared a match-winning 192-run partnership that steered Australia to victory with 42 balls to spare, finishing at 241/4.
The T20 World Cup in 2024 will be the next big ICC event for the Indian side after their loss in Ahmedabad.
