Rahul Dravid's Report Card As Coach: Has India Legend Delivered On What Was Expected?

15.08.2023 - 02:49 sports.ndtv.com

Poor performances in Indian cricket hardly go unnoticed, no matter how big the stature of the person is. Even the likes of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Sachin Tendulkar haven't been immune to criticism at times.

It's the same case with Rahul Dravid, but in the capacity of a coach. Since taking over the Indian team's coaching responsibility in November 2021, Dravid has been touted as the man who will bring India's long and excruciating wait for an ICC title to an end.

But, that hasn't quite been the case. Dravid started on a promising note, as the Indian team defeated New Zealand 3-0 in a T20I series in 2021.

It was Dravid's first series as the full-time head coach of the Indian team. But, the legendary batter hasn't managed to deliver on the promise on a consistent basis.

cricket India Cricket Team on as Rahul Dravid Sachin Tendulkar Ravi Shastri New Zealand India

With exactly nine days left for the start of the 2023 Asia Cup, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expected to announce India's squad for the event on Monday. The squad announcement will take place during BCCI's meeting in Delhi, with both head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma part of the conversation. From Jasprit Bumrah's comeback in the ongoing T20I series against Ireland, to the fitnes off KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, the management will have plenty of tough calls to make before churning out the strongest-possible squad.

India's Asia Cup 2023 Squad: Jasprit Bumrah, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul - Big Names In Fray

Indian cricket team's Asia Cup 2023 squad is most likely to be announced on Monday. Several reports have claimed that the BCCI selectors will meet Team India captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid to decide on the final squad for the Asia Cup, which begins on August 30. India's first match is against arch-rivals Pakistan on September 2 in Sri Lanka. The Asia Cup squad holds extra importance as it will more or less give an idea about what the squad for the ODI World Cup 2023 will look like.

Indian Squad For Asia Cup Could Have Additional Members, Rahul Dravid To Be Part Of Selection Meeting: Report

The Indian selection panel, led by Ajit Agarkar, is likely to go for a 17-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup in order to check out all possible options ahead of the ODI World Cup, starting October 5. It is also learnt that BCCI is bucking the convention for the first time and head coach Rahul Dravid will also be present in his official capacity during the meeting scheduled in the national capital on Monday morning. It can be confirmed that neither Ravi Shastri nor Anil Kumble were part of selection meetings during their tenure as national coach.

Will 'Home Advantage' Help India At ODI World Cup 2023? Controversial Ex-Coach Greg Chappell Urges 'Caution'

The Indian cricket team last won the ICC World Cup title back in the 2011 under the leadership of MS Dhoni and incidentally, they were also the hosts of that year's competition. It was a particularly good tournament for Asian teams as Pakistan reached the semi-finals and Sri Lanka finished as runners-up. With the 2023 edition of the tournament returning to India, the Rohit Sharma-led side is being as one of the front-runners but former India head coach Greg Chappell, who had a tumultuous time at the helm of the side, believes that the cricket fans need to be cautiously optimistic. In a recent interview, Chappell pointed out that home advantage will be a massive boost for India but winning the competition will not be easy due to the change dynamics in world cricket.

World Photography Day 2023: How India Legends Sachin Tendulkar And Anil Kumble Celebrated With Beautiful Pictures

Legendary Indian cricket team stars Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble took to social media to share special pictures to celebrate World Photography Day 2023 on Saturday. While both wanted to mark the date in their own style, the approach was slightly different. Sachin shared a moment from his trip to Kenya where he could be seen taking a photograph on his phone. "Sharing a photo of me clicking a photo on #WorldPhotographyDay #MasaiMaraDiaries," the caption read. Kumble, on the other hand, is a long-time photography enthusiast and he celebrated the occasion with some brilliant wildlife pictures taken by himself. "Capturing moments, one click at a time! Sharing a few of my shots this World Photography Day with you all," he wrote on Twitter along with four exquisite pictures.

India's Predicted XI vs Ireland, 1st T20I: Will Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma Make Debut?

Jasprit Bumrah-led Team India is all set to face Ireland in the first T20I of the three-match series on Friday in Dublin. Coming from a five-match series loss against West Indies, Team India eye redemption against Ireland. This series also marks the return of pacers Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna, who underwent back surgeries and went through a long recovery process. The team management has also named IPL 2023 like Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Tilak Varma, and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the squad.