The Rahul Dravid story, by Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag tells a story about Rahul Dravid from his playing days that captures the essence of the coach he would later become. The first time a young Sehwag was getting ready to open the batting in a Test at Lord’s in 2002, he saw Rahul Dravid, slated to bat at No 3, already ready, with his pads on. “You won’t give me time to put pads on”, remarked Dravid. The chronic risk-taker Sehwag went on to score 84 that day. After that innings, to put the team’s opener at ease, Dravid began to wear his pads only after Sehwag. It was Dravid who fought hard with the selectors to keep faith in the out-of-form ODI opener Sehwag during his captaincy in the mid 2000’s. And Dravid, again, who encouraged pacer Zaheer Khan’s comeback in the middle of the career.

It’s in these little big things that the strength of Dravid’s reign as a World Cup winning coach lies. Of not imposing his own philosophy on the players, but allowing them to grow on their own, and stepping in when needed. When Shubman Gill’s position was at stake in Tests earlier this year against England, Dravid had to tell the young opener that he could be let go after that Test. But the way he approached the situation — reminding Gill about his talent, what’s needed of him, and how the worst-case scenario of playing in Ranji Trophy wasn’t as bad as it seemed — relaxed the opener enough for him to return with a hundred. As Suryakumar Yadav told this newspaper, Dravid’s pre-World Cup presentation told the team, essentially, that he trusts the players to know what’s best. “Leave everything else to us, you guys go enjoy” were his words that put the team at ease.