‘World Beware!’, tweets former England captain Vaughan as Rahul Dravid steps into Ravi Shastri’s shoes

Sayantika Bhowal October 16, 2021

2 minutes read

Rahul Dravid steps into Ravi Shastri shoes - Digpu News

Rahul Dravid will replace Ravi Shastri as the India Team coach after the T20 World Cup 2021, scheduled in UAE from tomorrow. Paras Mhambrey will become the new bowling coach.

In one of the recent developments in Indian cricket, Rahul Dravid will replace Ravi Shastri as the India Team coach after the T20 World Cup, scheduled in UAE from tomorrow. Dravid has said yes to the position after a meeting with the BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah yesterday in Dubai.

His trusted lieutenant, Paras Mhambrey, is appointed as the bowling coach of the Indian men seniors’ team.

According to The Indian Express report, Dravid will coach the cricket team till 2023. He was appointed as the Director of Cricket Operations in National Cricket Academy after his stint with the India U-19 team and A team.

Twitter erupts with best wishes for Rahul Dravid

His fantastic work to change the face of the NCA is undeniable. He was the only person to re-apply for the NCA’s director role in August this year. It is being rightly said that one cricketing legend has replaced the other. Ravi Shastri as a coach of the men in blue has turned them into a formidable opposition in all three formats.

Former England’s captain Michael Vaughan has asked the world to beware as Dravid steps into the shoes of Shastri

If it’s true Rahul Dravid is to be the next Indian coach I think the rest of the world better beware … !
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) October 15, 2021

Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer’s tweet about the reason behind Rahul’s appointment has erupted a controversy. He jokingly wrote that cricketer Shardul Thakur birthday wish of being coached by the Wall has come true.

Till yesterday news reports were saying Rahul Dravid was going to stay at the NCA. Yet early morning news broke of him becoming India coach. So what happened around midnight? My best guess is Lord Shardul blew candles on his birthday cake wishing to be coached by Rahul bhai 😊
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 16, 2021

The appointment was made without any formal CAC interview. The hurry to take the decision had raised the eyebrows. A tweet by Vijay Lokapally also noted the same.

Rahul Dravid coach without the mandatory CAC interviews ? It is a BCCI constitutional requirement. Why this furious activity ? Doubt if BCCI will appoint coach without inviting applications. Even if Dravid says yes I'll wait for BCCI to announce. There is a World Cup first 😃
— Vijay Lokapally 🇮🇳 (@vijaylokapally) October 16, 2021

The Cricket-o-Pedia Joy Bhattacharya is delighted with the announcement of Dravid as India’s head coach

I'm delighted to see Rahul Dravid as the Indian men's coach. But give @RaviShastriOfc credit for helping build a formidable side across all 3 formats. And the incredible fight backs at the Gabba and the Oval were on his watch!
— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) October 16, 2021

Not on-field, Dravid is The Wall off-field too

Rahul Dravid’s appointment as the Indian U-19 team coach has witnessed the quick escalation of the young men in blue in the U-19 World Cup in both 2016 and 2018 sessions. Wicketkeeper and batsman Ishan Kishan led the team in Bangladesh and managed to reach the finals against Australia. However, they had lost the match.

In 2018, Prithvi Shaw led the U-19 team in World Cup in New Zealand and remained unbeaten. Dravid was also appointed as Indian senior team makeshift coach during the recent Sri Lankan white ball series.

The Wall was also part of multiple tours with the India-A side between 2016 and 2019. During the England tour in 2018/19, a few players have successfully debuted for the Indian side. The best example is Mayank Agarwal and his fireball test debut in MCC.

As an NCA director, Rahul Dravid has successfully strengthened the Indian bench strength. A glimpse of it was seen in Ajinkya Rahane and his men successfully retaining the Border-Gavaskar Cup in 2020-21.