Have got six captains in last eight months, which wasn't the plan when I started: Rahul Dravid

India head coach Rahul Dravid has opened up about his coaching stint with the Men in Blue till now. The former Indian skipper took up the role after Ravi Shastri’s tenure as head coach ended after the completion of the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai. Batter Virat Kohli also stepped down from the captaincy post.

Meanwhile, the newly appointed permanent skipper Rohit Sharma has not been available for all matches due to injuries and workload management. As a result, the Indian team has used several new captains including KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. In fact, the upcoming two-match T20I series against Ireland will see Hardik Pandya leading the Indian team for the first time.

It has been challenging and great fun: Dravid on his coaching stint till now

Speaking before the start of the fifth T20I against South Africa, Rahul Dravid said that the coaching part has been challenging and fun together. He also talked about the fast bowling talent the country has at the moment. It must be noted that the likes of Umran Malik, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Choudhary, and Arshdeep Singh enjoyed brilliant outing in IPL 2022.

“It (coaching) has been quite exciting, it has been good fun, I must say. It’s been challenging as well, we have got six captains in the last eight months, which actually wasn’t the plan when I started, but it’s the nature of the number of games we are playing, it’s the nature of Covid, so I have had to work with quite a few people, it has been great fun. A lot of other guys have got an opportunity to lead, we have got opportunities to create more leaders in the group,” Dravid told broadcasters.

“We have constantly strived to get better, we have tried a lot of different people. In the last eight months, touring South Africa was a bit of a disappointment in terms of Test cricket. Our white-ball cricket has been good though, showing the character of the team,” he added.

“It was incredible to see the fast bowling talent we have (during the IPL), especially with few of the bowlers clocking such (fast) speed. A lot of youngsters got an opportunity to showcase their skills, and a lot of them came good, those are really good signs for Indian cricket, exciting times ahead,” said Dravid further.