WTC 2023-25: Biggest challenge for Rahul Dravid after WTC 2023 Final defeat

WTC 2023-25: Biggest challenge for Rahul Dravid after WTC 2023 Final defeat: The ever-decorated Rahul Dravid was the guy, who is admired by everyone for his great temperament, vision and cool composure. Being a guy with such defining qualities, Dravid was handed over the reins of the Indian national cricket team following the tenure of Ravi Shastri, back in November 2021.

His work at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), before joining the Indian team as a head coach, was praiseworthy as he took certain steps to make NCA a proper machinery to groom young Indian players and make them match-ready.

With such high credentials, Dravid was expected to change the fortunes of the Indian side, which has a tendency to slip at the crucial time. However, since his appointment, he has not been able to break the shackles of being an underperformer in the ICC knockout events.

Under Rahul Dravid, India reached the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 where they were decimated by England. India again did well in the second edition of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 and entered the final with Australia. However, once again Australia edged past India in the ultimate test.

The next big assignment for Rahul Dravid and management, this year, would be the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. India will host the coveted tournament and automatically India will be anticipated to cease its trophyless run.

Graeme Smith, former South African captain, reflected on Rahul Dravid’s short stint as India’s head coach and also identified the biggest challenge ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.

“There’s a huge quality of players. India can put two or three teams together,” said Graeme Smith. “The biggest challenge in India for a leader is balancing those squads, balancing your tour schedules, the different formats, and those are some of the biggest decisions that are coming ahead of Rahul and his selection team. What do those squads look like, how do they move those teams forward.”

Smith hailed Dravid for his role in the team during such a short tenure and said he must be given a fair opportunity to rebuild the Indian squads for different formats.

“He’s [Rahul Dravid] a quality man and a quality performer. He’s shown it right through as a coach. So, you’ve got to give him a fair opportunity now to kind of rebuild India.”

Team India’s new challenge begins with the Caribbean tour, which will commence on July 12. With a two-match test series against West Indies, India will also begin its new cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC).

However, India’s prime focus would be on the ODIs due to the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023. The senior players are likely to be part of the ODI squads in every tour, but their presence in the remaining two formats is uncertain.

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For more details head to BCCI’s official website.