It will not be far-fetched to say that India has the largest talent pool when it comes to cricket. The cricket-crazy nation had potential champions playing cricket in every nook and corner of the country but somewhere struggled to identify and nurture them. However, with former Indian captain, Rahul Dravid at the helm of the National Cricket Academy, the Indian Cricket Team has a pipeline of talent continuously coming to it. Former Indian coach and Australian cricketer Greg Chappell is all praise for Dravid for nurturing young talents.
The entire world took notice of how India defeated Australia in their own backyard in the Border-Gavaskar series. Never mind the fact that beating Australia in Australia in tests is not only a rare feat but even the greatest teams have failed to do it. After losing its Captain to fatherhood duties and losing crucial players to industry, India pretty much fielded a second-string side after the damaging loss in the first test. As the series went on, India was hampered with more injuries and was forced to draft players like Washington Sundar who had never played an international test match and were initially not even in the Test squad. But the youngsters took to the team like fish takes to water and the credit must go to Rahul Dravid, according to Greg Chappell.
Stating that Dravid had picked “Australian brains” and replicated their style in India to groom young talents and turn them into match-winner, Chappell said, “India have got their act together and that’s largely because Rahul Dravid has picked our brains, seen what we’re doing and replicated it in India and with their much larger (population) base.”
Chappell added, “Historically, we’ve been one of the best at developing young players and keeping them in the system, but I think that’s changed in the last couple of years.”
Expressing concern towards the Australian domestic structure, Chappell said, “I’m seeing a bunch of young players with great potential who are in limbo. That’s unacceptable. We cannot afford to lose one player.”
The former Indian coach added, “I think we’ve already lost our position as the best at identifying talent and bringing it though. I think England are doing it better than us now and India are doing it better than us.”
Commenting on the historic Brisbane test, Chappell said, “When you look at the Indian team that played in the Brisbane Test that had three or four fresh players, and everyone said, ‘This is India’s second XI’ those guys had played (extensively) for India A.”
He added, “And in all sorts of different conditions, not just in India. So when they get picked, they’re not tyros at all, they’re quite hardened international cricketers.”
It is no secret that why almost every youngster rising through the ranks never fails to credit Rahul Dravid for their success. The future of Indian cricket is in safe hands with people like David at the helm of affairs, who will not only set the team for the upcoming 2023 World Cup but also for the next decade.
Yes, everyone knows that people Dravid, the wall is making a major contribution to the standard of Indian cricket and we also appreciate his fellow legendary Cricketers for assigning him this important role. Virat, Ravi Shastri, and Anil Kumble are to be appreciated for letting the controversy die down for the larger interest of the cricketing world.