Reports suggest that BCCI has extended an offer to extend Rahul Dravid’s tenure as Head Coach, although it’s uncertain whether Dravid has accepted the offer.
The BCCI has approached Rahul Dravid to extend his tenure as the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team and has initiated visa procedures for South Africa. ESPNcricinfo reported that an offer was made, but Dravid’s acceptance remains unconfirmed. If he agrees to the extension, his first task will be India’s upcoming tour of South Africa, comprising three T20Is and three ODIs starting December 10, followed by two Tests.
The report also notes that Dravid will continue working with the current set of assistant coaches, including Vikram Rathour for batting, Paras Mhambrey for bowling, and T Dilip for fielding.
Dravid took over from Ravi Shastri post the 2021 T20 World Cup for a two-year term that culminated in the ODI World Cup, where India ended as runners-up. It marked India’s joint-best finish in ICC events under Dravid’s coaching tenure, which included the World Test Championship final loss to Australia and the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final defeat by England.
“The BCCI secretary Jay Shah has had discussions with Dravid during last week. Obviously, the fine prints of the new contract are yet to be worked out. But BCCI wants Dravid to go to South Africa with the Test team. The contract will be worked out but the Test series is important and even if he doesn’t go for the T20I series in SA, he can join (the team) from the ODIs,” revealed a senior BCCI official anonymously to PTI.
Following the conclusion of the ODI World Cup, Dravid addressed his future as India’s coach, stating, “I haven’t thought about it. I have no time to think about this, and no time to reflect on this. I will when I get the time to do that. But at this point of time, I was completely focused on this campaign. It was focused on this World Cup, and there was nothing else on my mind. And I haven’t given any other thought to what happens in the future.”
It would be interesting to see the nature of Dravid’s tenure extension, whether it will be for a year keeping the next T20 World Cup in mind or till 2025 which covers the entire on-going WTC cycle and the Champions Trophy, which is scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan for now.
Last Updated on November 29, 2023
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