‘Rahul Dravid will bring a blueprint for the next five years’ – Aakash Chopra
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra believes the appointment of Rahul Dravid as India coach will help Indian cricket go a long way. Dravid is the front runner to take over from Ravi Shastri as India coach after the 20-20 World Cup. The former India skipper has one of the sharpest brains in cricket. He is widely respected and has worked with most of the youngsters during his stint with India A and Under-19 teams. Dravid is often credited for creating a strong bench strength for India.
Chopra feels that if Dravid becomes the India coach, he will lay a road map for India for the next 5-10 years which the team can follow to achieve greater heights in cricket.
Speaking on his YouTube channel Chopra said, “So, what can Rahul Dravid do? I think he’ll bring a process. See, the Indian team is already very successful, it’s not like they are not doing well. You are defeating Australia in Australia, you have the ability to defeat England in England, you are capable of becoming World Champions, you are at the top of the Test rankings for the last five years. With Rahul Dravid, I see a blueprint for the next five years. He’s not going to come with a short-term vision but he’ll come with a blueprint for Indian cricket for the next five or ten years.”
Meanwhile, post the 20-20 World Cup, India skipper Virat Kohli will also step down as India T20I skipper. While an official announcement is yet to come, Rohit Sharma is almost certain to take over the reins from Kohli. Chopra said that Dravid and Rohit will form an interesting pair for limited-overs cricket. “…We can see a pair of ‘R’ and ‘R’ – Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma – for white-ball cricket and Rahul Dravid with Virat Kohli for Test matches. It’s going to be very interesting.”
Dravid has officially applied for the head coach post. While BCCI have received a few other applications as well, Chopra believes that Dravid is leading the race by miles. “If he has put his name in then… it’s a race where no other coach can win. The moment Rahul Dravid has put his name, others’ applications are already redundant.”
