After leading India to their second T20 World Cup triumph and first in 17 years, Suryakumar Yadav shared what an emotional Rahul Dravid said to Rohit Sharma.
As the favourites, the Men in Blue entered the 2024 T20 World Cup. India ended their 11-year drought for an ICC title under the inspiring captaincy of Rohit and the smart guidance of Dravid. Dravid commended Rohit for his phone call in November 2023, persuading him to stay on as India’s head coach after he had chosen to resign after the team’s heartbreaking loss in the ODI World Cup final, according to Suryakumar, who played several pivotal hits during the season.
For those who are unaware, the former captain of India desired to resign from his position as head coach of the national side following the Men in Blue’s defeat to Australia in the Ahmedabad ODI World Cup final the previous year. Still, Dravid was convinced to sign a contract extension through the USA and the West Indies T20 World Cup by Rohit and BCCI secretary Jay Shah.
“In the end, Dravid came & thanked Rohit & said ‘Thank you, Rohit, for that phone call in November’ because he didn’t want to continue after the 50 over World Cup loss but Rohit and Jay sir convinced him to stay,” Suryakumar revealed to Express Sports.
Looking history at India’s results while they were coached by Rahul Dravid at ICC events
Ravi Shastri resigned as India’s head coach in the wake of the team’s unexpected 2021 T20 World Cup loss, and Rahul Dravid assumed the demanding position. India developed under Dravid’s coaching tenure, consistently making it to the semifinals of ICC tournaments.
Also read: Shahid Afridi praises Rohit Sharma for playing an aggressive style of cricket and opens up about Pakistan’s poor T20 World Cup performance.
The Asian heavyweights advanced to the semi-finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup, but ultimately fell to eventual winners England. India lost to Australia in the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup finals in 2023. After defeating South Africa by seven runs in an intense Barbados final, they finally made it to the finals of the recently ended T20 World Cup.
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