Rahul Dravid, in his avatar as the coach of the Indian Under-19 team in the ongoing World Cup, is a much sought-after man these days. While he is certainly focusing on the colts’ upcoming quarter-finals on Saturday, ‘The Wall’ is also believed to be playing a willing mentor to any team that wants to pick his brains in Bangladesh.
There was a heart-warming report in Indian media the other day which said the batting legend walked into Nepal’s dressing room after they received a mauling from the Indian team. More than any perfunctory consolation words, Dravid apparently held court on how they should learn to rotate the strike better in their pursuit to build a challenging total.
A somewhat similar routine followed against Canada, a team mostly built of expat youth and even the Pakistan camp – where he shared his knowledge in the art of coaching. If not anything, this surely highlights that the man enjoys the role of grooming talents who are going to shape the future of the game – in his quiet, unobstrusive manner.
While the next 10 days or so will determine if India can regain the U-19 World Cup under Dravid’s coaching, there’s no doubt that the Indian cricket board has managed to persuade the right person to take the responsibility of the colts and India ‘A’ teams. With the board announcing recently that they would name a full-time coach for the senior team after the World T20, Dravid would once again be a popular choice for the hot seat – and it will be interesting to see for how long he can continue to spurn the lucrative offer.
It’s difficult to say if it’s the time-worn concept of ‘giving something back’ to the game which motivated Dravid to accept the responsibility of the talent in the pipeline. He could also be secure in the knowledge that the top job could be his with a ‘yes’ – but for now, there is no doubt that he has his heart in the right place.
The Fab Four’s careers have, post-retirement, taken different directions. While Sachin Tendulkar is keen to preserve his exclusivity and brand value, Sourav Ganguly makes no bones about his administrative ambitions, while V.V.S.Laxman has chosen the more conventional route of taking up coaching and commentary assignments.
Each to his own really – as Dravid seems to be content in working with junior talents. His sense of history of the game and power of self-expression has already made him a favourite public speaker in the cricketing establishment, while he has effortlessly dabbled in commentary.
There is, however, a hyper-sensitive soul in him which can often lead to implosion – a factor which saw him quitting the Indian captaincy in 2007 after a series of poor results. It can certainly be a drawback should he ever take up the senior coach’s position or any administrative role.
Is he then, better off, mentoring young talent and playing the quintessantial ambassador of the game?
I would tend to agree!
