The great Rahul Dravid may not have won a World Cup for India as a player, but The Wall received the most perfect farewell as a coach when India beat South Africa to win the 2024 T20 World Cup. Dravid, who like all of us, was crushed when India came up short against Australia in the ODI World Cup final on November 19 last year, on captain Rohit Sharma’s insistence, came up with a last throw of the dice, to carry on for another six months for the T20 World Cup. Little did he know that it would turn out to be one of the best decision ever taken by him. The sight of Team India players lifting their departing coach Dravid in the air out of sheer joy and jubilation is a visual that will forever remain etched in the hearts and minds of Indian cricket fans.
Speaking of everlasting shot, how iconic was it when Dravid was handed the World Cup Trophy by Virat Kohli and he simply burst into wild celebrations. That it came from Dravid is a proof that even the most soft-spoken and humble people have a childish side to themselves. That ‘adulterated’ show of emotions in Barbados summed up what the moment and the whole journey meant to Dravid, even if isn’t a fan of viewing that clip in front of his kids Samit and Anvay.
“We strived to achieve something together. When you come at the end of it, you have moments like that. It’s great to celebrate. I try to avoid showing that to my children, thinking I’ve gone mad or something. But yeah, I was always telling the boys we got to maintain our balance, and remain cool, not go up and down with results. Thank god it was my last game, otherwise after that, they would have said ‘you’re saying one thing but doing something else’,” Dravid said at the CEAT Awards, the full version of which was released on Sunday.
Samit, 18 and Anvay, 14 are budding cricketers, with the older brother already making waves in the Indian junior cricketing circuit. Having recently represented the Mysuru Warriors in the Maharaja T20, Samit was drafted in India’s Under-19 squad that was announced for the multi-format home series against Australia U19.
‘Cricketers fail more than they succeed’
Dravid, emphasising a very crucial fact of the game that often goes unnoticed, pointed out how in cricket, there are more failures than success. Think about it, even the greatest of cricketers, irrespective how many records they have – Don Bradman, Sunil Gavaskar, Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Garfield Sobers or Kohli – have faced disappointments more. But then again, it’s this very factor of rarity and oddity that makes the destination sweeter.
“The beauty of awards like this is that they only show you lovely things that you’ve done on a cricket field. But the honest fact is, and that’s the truth, is that you’re failing a lot more than you’re succeeding in this game. The list of failures and disappointment would be a lot as well in a long career,” mentioned Dravid.
“But that’s what makes it so much more fun, enjoyable when you have moments like that, either as a player or coach. Just to be able to go on campaign with people that you respect, admire, look up to, and people who go through ups and downs in life. To come out on the other side and win trophies, big events, Test matches, ODIs, championships is a fantastic feeling.”
