BRIDGETOWN: Had he not received a phone call from India skipper Rohit Sharma, requesting him to continue after the ODI World Cup final defeat, Rahul Dravid wouldn’t have been a part of history, the outgoing head coach revealed in his farewell speech to the team after it was crowned T20 world champion.

Dravid’s tenure had ended with the ODI World Cup after India lost to Australia in the final despite a 10-match winning run, but the coaching staff got an extension till the end of the T20 World Cup that concluded on Saturday last.

While Dravid has not reapplied for the role after India’s second T20 World Cup win, he mentioned Sharma’s role in urging him to continue as the coach during his speech in the Kensington Oval dressing room after the team’s win seven-run win in the final against South Africa.

“Ro, thank you very much for making that call to me November and asking to continue,” Dravid said in a video shared by BCCI on Tuesday. “I think it’s been such a privilege and a pleasure to work with each and everyone of you, but Ro, also thanks for the time...there is a lot of time we have to chat, we have to discuss, we have to agree, we have to disagree at times, but thank you so very much,” Dravid said as Sharma laughed. Dravid praised the players for putting up collectively solid performances through the tournament and urged them to celebrate the achievement as much as they would like.

“All of you will remember these moments. We always say, it is not about the runs, it is not about the wickets, you never remember your career but you remember moments like this, so let’s really enjoy,” Dravid said.

“I could not be more proud of you guys, to come back the way you did, the way you fought, the way we worked as a team...the resilience. There has been some disappointment over the years where we have come close, we have never been able to cross the line,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2024