'Fondest memory will be the connections I've built' - Rahul Dravid ahead of last working day as India coach

Rahul Dravid is all set to bid farewell as India's head coach after the T20 World Cup 2024 final between India and South Africa on Saturday, June 29.

The former India captain is set to spearhead the Men in Blue one final time at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados in the hope of ending an 11-year wait for an ICC title. Under Dravid, India reached the semi-finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup, finals of the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup in 2023 but couldn't get over the line. They would want to go the distance and win their second T20 World Cup title on Saturday.

Ahead of his last working day as India's head coach, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) put out a special feature video, where the 51-year-old said that his term as India's head coach has been a huge learning experience for him and his family as well. Dravid also praised the professionalism within the team throughout his tenure.

“I've really enjoyed myself. It has been a great learning experience for me and my family as well. Everyone's got invested in the Indian team over the last two-and-a-half years. I certainly have, being here, but so has my family in each and every result that the Indian team has been part of. It's been really nice for me to see how my two young boys have taken to it,” Dravid was quoted as saying in a video shared by the BCCI on social media platform X.

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“The kind of people that I have had the pleasure of working with. My coaching staff, the people who I have worked closely with, and then just overall around that. The support staff as well - the professionalism around them. That for me is really the fondest thing. I know there have been results and, we've had some really good results in this time, we have had times when it has not been that easy and that's part and parcel of being a coach and being a cricket team. But for me, the fondest memory that I'll take back is the connections that I've built, the friendships that I've built. That will last long after I forget and remember some of these good results or bad results,” he added.

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India and South Africa are unbeaten in the 2024 T20 World Cup. While the Men in Blue have won seven games, the Proteas are coming into the finals on the back of eight wins. One of India's matches against Canada was washed out due to a wet outfield.