Former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid created a lot of buzz when he was selected as the head coach for the Sri Lankan tour starting from July 13.
The good news had come for Dravid after his distinctive work at the grass-root level. He was the head coach for India A and India Under-19 teams from 2016 to 2019 that helped them reach new milestones.
Former Australian cricketer Greg Chappell had recently applauded Dravid for his unflinching work with the junior sides.
Talking about his coaching technique, Dravid revealed that he gave a chance to everyone who was participating in India ‘A’ tour to help them build their experience.
“I tell them upfront, if you come on an A tour with me, you will not leave here without playing a game. I’ve had that personal experience myself as a kid: going on an A tour and not getting an opportunity to play is terrible,” Dravid told ESPNcricinfo’s ‘The Cricket Monthly’.
The Director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) further added that he advised his mentees not to get complacent and try to be consistent.
“You’ve done well, you scored 700-800 runs, you go, and you don’t get a chance to show what you’re good at. And then you’re back to square one from the selectors’ point of view because the next season you have to score those 800 runs again,” Dravid divulged.
Concluding the interview, Dravid expounded that since everyone might not get a chance to prove their mettle, the veteran batsman picked the best fifteen out of the lot and made five-six changes in between games.
“It is not easy to do that, so there is no guarantee you’ll get a chance again. So you tell people upfront: this is the best 15 and we are playing them. This is not about the supposed best XI. At U-19, we make five-six changes between games if we can,” Dravid reiterated.
Meanwhile, Prithvi Shaw, Deepak Chahar, Rahul Chahar, Devdutt Paddikal and Ruturaj Gaikwad are some of the young guns who have been included in the 20-man India squad for the Islander’s tour as most of the senior players would be battling it out in England during that period.
India is one of the few cricketing nations to have a sturdy ‘B’ squad which a testament to Dravid’s hard work.
