Rahul Dravid will face a litmus test as a coach in the upcoming limited over World Cups, says Saba Karim.
Rahul Dravid came in with a lot of expectations when he was appointed as the head of the Indian cricket team. But India’s recent flop show at the Asia Cup has raised many concerns. The defending champions failed to qualify for the final of the tournament. They suffered consecutive losses against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Rahul Dravid, the Indian Head Coach, now faces an ultimate test as a coach in the upcoming T20 World Cup starting in October.
“The honeymoon period is over for David,” says Saba Karim
Former Indian cricketer and selector, Saba Karim, has said that Rahul Dravid will face a hard time as a coach in the forthcoming T20 World Cup. He says that Dravid will only be satisfied if India wins the next ICC event.
“So, even Rahul Dravid is aware that the honeymoon period is over. He is trying his best to be an alchemist, but so far, such metals haven’t been converted into the core. One would expect him to do that. This is crunch time for Rahul Dravid. With the World Cup T20 coming up, next year the ODI World Cup coming up. These two big ICC events. If India can win both these big ICC events, then only Rahul Dravid will be satisfied with the kind of input he has given to team India.”
Karim is not amused by India’s inconsistent performance in the SENA countries
The former cricketer has said that away test wins hold more value than bilateral series wins. Dravid is well aware of the nature of such games. It will be the biggest challenge that he will face in the future as a coach.
“If given an option, Rahul Dravid would love to have those Test series wins in South Africa and the last Test match in England. He would love to swap that with the many bilateral wins that India has got under his belt. But that’s the nature of the challenges which Rahul Dravid has to face”
He further added that it is important for Rahul Dravid that the team wins an ICC event and test series in the SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries under his mentorship. He said,
“See, Rahul is sensible and intelligent. He understands that the only way he can define a successful tenure of his coaching career is if India – number one, wins ICC events and number two, it starts to win Test series in SENA countries. I’m not talking about Test wins. Test wins even while Rahul Dravid was playing, India has done that. But more importantly, when India starts to win in SENA countries, the Test series, that’s when Rahul Dravid will be very happy with team India’s performance. “
