Rahul Dravid As India Cricket Coach: Right Man, Wrong Time?

By M H AHSSAN |INNLIVE

His credentials and knowledge of the game are beyond question, but with just one year of international coaching experience, is it too early?

It might be the second-most important job in the country. With, perhaps, the responsibility of pleasing more people than even the prime minister has to.

So, when the position of coach of the Indian cricket team is offered to one of India’s most beloved cricketing sons, there are bound to be very high expectations. Ever since reports surfaced in the media that the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s advisory committee, comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, had approached the fourth member of the so-called Fab Four, Rahul Dravid, 43, for the job, it’s got not only the fans but also some legends of the game talking.

Former India batsman Sunil Gavaskartold NDTV that Dravid has served his “cooling period” after retirement from all formats in 2013. “My honest advice to [the] BCCI is that in case they are looking for a change, there is no one better than Rahul Dravid.” Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said, “I don't think [the] BCCI will find many better candidates than someone like him. If he’s interested in doing the job, he will do a good job. He’s got a lot of knowledge, is very experienced and understands all three formats because he has worked in IPL.”

No greenhorn:
Dravid’s name hasn’t cropped up out of the blue. In June 2015, in a decision that was welcomed by Indian cricket fans, the BCCI had appointed him coach of India’s Under-19 and ‘A’ teams. Who better to put in charge of the next generation of Indian cricket than one of the most technically sound and reliable batsmen produced by the country?

Dravid had served as mentor of the now-defunct Rajasthan Royals IPL team for two seasons, so he had some experience grooming youngsters such as Sanju Samson and Karun Nair. He had also served as batting consultant to the Indian team ahead of their tour of England in 2014, where several players spoke highly of their interactions with “The Wall”.

And Dravid did not disappoint. Under his stewardship, the Indian team went unbeaten right up to the final of the Under-19 World Cup in February 2016, where they suffered a shock loss to the West Indies. It was around this time that the possibility of his coaching the senior team started being discussed.

The Indian team has been without a head coach for over a year now since Duncan Fletcher’s contract expired at the end of the 2015 World Cup. Ravi Shastri was temporarily given the post of team director, in a stint that ended after the 2016 World Twenty20. It was at that point that the BCCI’s advisory committee reportedly suggested offering Dravid a long-term contract to coach the senior team, possibly extending till the 2019 World Cup, according to The Times of India.

With India scheduled to play 18 Test matches between June 2016 and March 2017, against teams like New Zealand, England and Australia, the squad needs a head coach very, very soon. And while Dravid is reported to be considering the offer, saying he will take it up only if he has the “bandwidth” for it, former Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist got it spot-on when he said, "It is just a question of if and when the time is right for him.”

On the other hand...
There are a lot of factors that support the idea of Dravid's becoming the India coach. But there's a counter-view as well, which cites his lack of coaching experience. Yes, the players he has coached and mentored have spoken highly of him, but his record has not been spotless. At both the IPL teams he has mentored, Dravid has been criticised for tinkering with and messing up the team combination far too often, with none-too-successful outcomes.

Last season, the Rajasthan Royals seemed to be going all guns blazing at the start, notching up five wins in a row, before a late slump meant they struggled to qualify for the playoffs. They were thrashed by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the eliminator by 71 runs. This season, Dravid’s Delhi Daredevils looked to be cruising into the playoffs in the first half of the tournament, only for a late-season slump to jeopardise their chances. Players such as JP Duminy and Chris Morris, who are capable of causing carnage with the bat, are being sent in low down the order, while the T20 World Cup final hero Carlos Brathwaite is hardly being used.

Becoming India's head coach will come with more than a fair share of scrutiny, and even someone with as impeccable a reputation as Dravid's will not be spared if the team does not perform well. There will be gigantic expectations given his stature, and the fans will expect results straight away. It has also been argued that Dravid's defensive instincts, at least as a player, are not aligned with the aggressive nature of India's current Test captain, Virat Kohli.

More time?
Perhaps it might make better sense for Dravid to spend at least a year or two with the Indian senior team as a mentor or a consultant under another head coach before he takes up the top post. It will enable him to gauge how the players function, both individually and as a unit, and make him better prepared to take over the reins.

The only argument that goes against delaying Dravid's appointment, if the BCCI indeed wants him to be at the helm for the 2019 World Cup, is that he will lose precious time in building and shaping his team for the sport's biggest tournament. Putting him in charge three years before the World Cup is obviously smarter than doing it just one year before the tournament.

The BCCI also has the example of one of its former employees, Gary Kirsten, who was handed charge of the Indian team in 2008 with negligible prior coaching experience. The former South African batsman had only worked as a batting consultant for local teams and was running his own cricket academy in Cape Town when the BCCI came calling. He would go on to lead India to their second World Cup triumph three years later.

Kirsten had taken his time to get back to the BCCI and so should Dravid. If he feels he is up to the task, no one can stop him from taking up the role, and rightly so. However, with just one year of proper international coaching experience, he'll need to learn quicker than he scored at No. 3.