Rahul Dravid appointed as new head coach of India Men

India

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have announced the appointment of Rahul Dravid as the senior men’s team head coach.

Dravid succeeds Ravi Shastri, whose term as head coach comes to an end after the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup.

The Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Sulakshana Naik and RP Singh on Wednesday unanimously appointed Dravid as the Head Coach of Team India.

The BCCI had invited applications for the position on 26 October 2021 with a view to appointing Shastri’s successor in short order.

In their announcement, the BCCI congratulated Shastri (former Team Director & Head Coach), B. Arun (Bowling Coach), R. Sridhar (Fielding Coach) and Vikram Rathour (Batting Coach) on a successful tenure as the Team India technical staff.

BCCI appoints Dravid as India coach, succeeding Shastri

“Under Shastri, the Indian Cricket Team adopted a bold and fearless approach and performed creditably both in home and away conditions. India climbed to the top position in the Test format and made it to the final of the inaugural World Test Championship in England,” an announcement read.

India became the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia (2018-19) and followed it with another series win in 2020-21 under Shastri’s direction. They were also the first team to win all five T20Is in a bilateral series when they blanked New Zealand 5-0. Under Shastri and his team’s guidance, India won all their seven Test series at home.

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly welcomed the appointment of Dravid.

“The BCCI welcomes Rahul Dravid as the Head Coach of India’s senior men team,” Ganguly said.

“Rahul has had an illustrious playing career and is one of the greats of the game.

“He has also served Indian cricket as Head of National Cricket Academy (NCA) with distinction.

“Rahul’s effort at the NCA has nurtured several young cricketing talents who have gone on to represent the country at the international stage.

“I am hopeful that his new stint will take Indian cricket to new heights.”

Dravid was thrilled to have been chosen for the role which has long been an ambition of his to fulfill.

“It is an absolute honour to be appointed as the new Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team and I am really looking forward to this role,” Dravid said.

“Under Mr Shastri, the team has done very well, and I hope to work with the team to take this forward.

“Having worked closely with most of the boys either at NCA, U19 and India A setup, I know they have the passion and desire to improve every day.

“There are some marquee multi-team events in the next two years, and I look forward to working with the players and the support staff to achieve our potential.”

Rahul Dravid

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