The BCCI has extended its offer to Rahul Dravid to stay as India’s head coach, a decision that suggests consistency. According to information obtained by ESPNcricinfo, Dravid was contacted by the BCCI last week, and the extension’s term is unspecified.
Nevertheless, it remains unclear if Dravid has accepted the offer. It has been revealed that one of the main reasons the BCCI was eager to keep Dravid on was to maintain the system he had established over the previous two years, which may have been upset by the appointment of a new head coach.
However, should Dravid accept the offer, his first assignment during his second stint will be to lead India on their tour of South Africa. The tour begins with the white-ball leg on December 10 and consists of three T20Is and ODIs each. Two Test matches, in Centurion on December 26 and Cape Town on January 3, will follow. Before the T20 World Cup in June, there is the five-match Test series at home against England.
Following the T20 World Cup in 2021, Dravid took over as skipper from Ravi Shastri. His two-year tenure came to an end with India finishing second in the ODI World Cup. India lost to Australia in the World Test Championship final this June, making that their joint-best result at ICC events under coach Virat Kohli. Prior to that, India lost to England in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final.
It is also anticipated that Dravid will stick with the same group of assistant coaches he teamed up with in 2021: T Dilip as the fielding coach, Vikram Rathour as the batting coach, and Paras Mhambrey as the bowling coach.
Dravid had expressed his pride in India’s ranking as the top team in all three forms following the World Cup final defeat, but he called the lack of a worldwide trophy a “disappointment”. When asked repeatedly if he would like to stay in the position, Dravid responded that he had been too busy getting ready for the World Cup to give it much attention.
“I haven’t given it any thought. I don’t have time to consider this or to think back on it,” Dravid had remarked. “When I have the time, I will do it. However, at this moment, I was entirely preoccupied with this campaign. All of my thoughts were on this World Cup, and nothing else. Furthermore, I haven’t given the future any more thought.”
