With an eye on T20 World Cup glory, Dravid stays on

India's head coach together with the selectors will have to take the critical call, if the time is right to press the transition button in T20s

- Rashesh Mandani

Dravid inks new deal, to stay as Team India coach

In cricket’s new landscape centred around World Cups, which now happen every year, trophies matter more than ever before. Rahul Dravid, in his two-year tenure as India’s head coach couldn’t end India’s trophy drought at ICC events, but has been rewarded with a contract extension for the team’s dream run at the recent ODI World Cup where they won ten matches in a row to finish runners-up.

The Indian board, by not adopting a tunnel vision, has chosen to see merit in continuing with Dravid given that there are just six months to go for the next instalment of an ICC World Cup, of the T20 variety.

“The Head Coach has our full backing, and we will provide him with all the support needed for sustained success at the international level,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said on Wednesday.

Time will tell if Dravid and his support staff – batting coach Vikram Rathore, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey and fielding coach T Dilip, will stay on for the entire duration of the 2023-25 World Test Championship cycle and the 2025 Champions trophy. But a BCCI official confirmed Dravid’s contract extension, at least for next year’s T20 World Cup to be held in USA-West Indies was ‘always on the cards, if the ODI World Cup went well’.

Unlike England, which has separate head coaches and support staff for red-ball and white-ball cricket, the BCCI prefers to have a reputed coach to oversee all cricket. Besides, the prevailing sentiment in the board is that home coaches are better placed to deliver results. All of this made the decision to offer Dravid a chance to stay in charge, easier.