As a coach I need to challenge my own thinking: Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid, who was appointed has the mentor of Delhi Daredevils, as taken to his coaching role with Indian A and U-19 team like a duck takes to water. The 43-year-old opened up about the challenges he has faced so far, and why he has not regrets about playing in the inaugural World T20.
When asked about how he feels about being addressed as 'Rahul Sir' these days, Dravid laughed and said, “I like this part of the thing. More than coaching, I see this as building a team, creating a culture of performance and seeing the talent we have. I have been retired for only 3-4 years. I am pretty young to this”.
'The Wall' also revealed that he has not regret about missing out on the chance to win the T20 World Cup in 2007, and instead believes that had the senior players played in that tournament, India might not have lifted that trophy.
“You don't regret. The Indian team won that World Cup. That was a youthful team and it changed the discourse of Indian cricket. If we (the veterans then) had played, we might not have won. The fact of the matter is that the best team played and the best team won. T20 has become a very serious game. There is a lot of time invested. For me, Test cricket will always remain the premium game. Other people will have a different view. However, I love being part of it,” he said.
Dravid believes that the T20 format has introduced a new level of professionalism in the youngsters, although it can also be a distraction for some.
“The good thing is the level of professionalism in the kids, the opportunities they get and the maturity level. The negative is that the pressure of competition has increased a lot. There are too many distractions for the kids compared to my time. Nowadays, it is very important to keep your head in spite of being successful early . The trappings of success come at a very early age,” he explained.
The former Test cricketer has coached the U-19 Indian team to the final of the recently-held T20 World Cup, and feels that his biggest challenge as a coach has been to challenge his own thinking, and realizing that the current generation needs to be trained in a different manner.
“As a coach, I realize I can't coach them as I was coached. I have to change. And that's the exciting part. I need to challenge my own thinking. The scoring rates are different now. People are playing all kinds of shots. It's incredible to watch some of the shots they play. They practice it too! They see their seniors doing it. They copy and practice it. I am learning fast and trying very hard to keep an open mind,” he added.
When asked about the difference in the technique and style of play of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, Dravid said performance is more important than the method in which it is achieved. He said, “This is a performance-based game. How you achieve that performance, as history has shown, is sometimes a bit irrelevant. The only time you interrupt is when the performances are not there, people get dropped. AB de Villiers has a way of scoring runs and he is successful at that. Virat Kohli wants to do it differently and is still successful. Why would you want to change them anyway? Malinga bowls his yorkers in a particular way and Dale Steyn bowls his yorkers in some other way. It's for the player to realize what suits him best and choose his way”.
0
0
0
0
0
0
Comments
Sign up or log in to your account to leave comments and reactions
0 Comments