IPL teams 'missing a trick' by not using more Indian coaches, reckons Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid believes that there are some good Indian coaches around and that IPL teams are facing a loss by not including them in their coaching setup. Further, he pointed out that former cricketers have so much local knowledge about the young Indian players which could benefit the franchises.
Rahul Dravid personifies the word 'gentleman' as after such a great career as a batsman, he decided to step into coaching and mentor the youngsters and the kind of valuable experience that he is providing has gone a long way in developing talents like Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill. He has also worked as a head coach of the Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals and players like Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant have developed significantly under him. Dravid, currently working at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru believes that there are some great Indian coaches available in the circuit.
The IPL has a majority of Indian players and thus keeping coaches that have an idea about the local talent and the conditions will be extremely valuable for the franchises. but instead, franchises spend big to bring in foreign coaches and thus Dravid believes that they are missing a trick by not using Indian coaches in the think-tank.
"I believe we've got some very good coaches, a lot of good people. I'm fully confident [in their ability]. Just as we have a lot of talent in the cricket department, we have a lot of talent in the coaching department. We need to give them confidence and time to flourish. I'm sure they will do it," Dravid told ESPNCricinfo.
He also touched on the importance of the knowledge the Indian coaches possess about the local conditions and that could prove a huge asset for the IPL teams. He feels that if not as a head coach, the Indian coaches must at least be taken on board as assistant coaches as their experience will come in very handy to not only scout local talent but also to groom them into potential world-class players for India.
"It does sometimes disappoint me when a lot of our boys don't get opportunities as assistant coaches in IPL. Honestly, there are so many Indian players in the IPL, there's so much of local knowledge [among our coaches]. I feel a lot of teams could actually benefit from using a lot of our Indian coaches in the IPL. They know the Indian players better, they understand them better. Even as assistant coaches… there is a lot of talent and ability. It just needs to be given the opportunity, and flourish," Dravid asserted.
However, he is hopeful of creating some kind of a programme for the Indian coaches where they would gain the necessary skills to succeed at the highest level.
A part of our goal is to create a programme for coaches as well so that we can give them certain skills in which they can develop - and hopefully then get the opportunities to work at a slightly higher level," he stated.
"That's my personal opinion. It's not for me to decide for franchises and head coaches what they do, but I think they miss a trick by not involving more Indian coaches. Indian coaches understand and know the system, and they know a lot of Indian players. Every IPL team has at least 17-18 Indian players. It's my personal view, but I would love to see a lot of our boys get the opportunity to be in and around that environment. Hopefully, we can work with some teams to try and ensure that," Dravid concluded.