ODI World Cup is going to be a really close tournament, but we feel confident: Rahul Dravid

India head coach Rahul Dravid is confident of his team’s success in the upcoming ODI World Cup. Notably, India will start their campaign on October 8 against Australia and will play their second match against Afghanistan on October 11, before hosting arch-rivals Pakistan, on October 15, in Ahmedabad. They will play a total of nine matches in the league stage and will be aiming to finish in the top four to qualify for the semi-finals of the competition.

Dravid, meanwhile, believes that the race to semis will be an intense one as he expects a very close tournament. The 50-year-old added that players of other teams too are accustomed to the Indian conditions due to the Indian Premier League and hence, he expects a tight contest. However, the former cricketer remains confident of India’s chances in the tournament.

“There are some really good teams in this tournament, but I think the whole thing of home advantage, especially in the sub-continent, has reduced to a large extent over the last 10–12 years because, you know, people come and play here so much, especially in tournaments like the IPL, where people come for two months and have been getting used to these conditions.

“So it's going to be a really close tournament, it's going to be a tight tournament. We feel confident, we are really excited. As a coach, I'm really looking forward to it as well,” Dravid was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

I'm not into legacies as a coach: Dravid 

Despite being considered one of the legends of the game, Rahul Dravid has never held the World Cup. If he wins it this time around, he will be part of the legacy, but the former cricketer clarified that he is not interested in building a legacy as a coach. He added that it will be an exciting tournament and the players along with the fans should enjoy themselves.

“Oh, I'm not into legacies as a coach or anything like that. It's exciting to play a World Cup at home. I must say that it's going to be really exciting for everyone. There's going (to) be a certain amount of pressure associated with it, which is most welcome. We hope we can have a really good tournament. I think we are preparing really well. It is all hopefully coming together nicely with some of the guys coming back from injury just at the right time,” Dravid added.