Both Me And Jay Shah Wanted Rahul Dravid As Head Coach Of Team India: Sourav Ganguly
Mumbai: The appointment of Rahul Dravid as India’s head coach pleased Indian cricket fans but his appointment was a difficult task for the Board of Control for Cricket in India. After Ravi Shastri’s tenure as India’s head coach came to an end, Dravid was the clear choice of the board.
Sourav Ganguly, who spearheaded the campaign to appoint Dravid as Shastri’s successor, explained the long and arduous process that he as well as BCCI secretary Jay Shah took to convince Dravid for the job.
“We had Rahul in mind for a long period of time, both me and Jay, but he wasn’t agreeing because of the time away from home and because doing a national team’s job is [about being] on the road for about 8-9 months in a year and he has two young children,” Ganguly said on ‘Backstage with Boria’ in a video on YouTube channel Xtra Time.
Ganguly also said that the players of the team were also consulted about what kind of head coach they want. After listening to the players’ suggestions, the BCCI management was convinced that Dravid was the right fit for the team, and was informed about the same.
“And when we spoke to the players also about what sort of person they want, you could clearly see that, there was an inclination to Rahul so we communicated that to him. I spoke to him personally many times.
“Luckily, he agreed and I don’t know what triggered the change in his mind but he agreed and I think this is the best BCCI could have done in terms of coaching once Ravi Shastri left,” Ganguly explained.
Since his appointment as India’s full-time head coach, Dravid has won the T20I series as well as the Test series against New Zealand. His focus will now be on winning his first overseas match against South Africa. India is set to participate in 3 Tests and as many ODIs in the rainbow nation.
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