Rahul Dravid received a hero's welcome and a guard of honour from young cricketers at a local cricketing academy in Bengaluru. The honour came as he made his entry as a World Cup winning coach. The young budding talents and the coaching staff at the cricket academy paid tribute to the former India coach Dravid. The students raised their bats and the coaching staff of the academy gave a rousing applause to Dravid. The World Cup winning coach happily shook hands with everyone and looked all smiles on receiving a warm reception. Dravid's guidance and relentless zeal was crucial in India lifting the T20 World Cup 2024.
Rahul Dravid made his international debut in 1996 and played for India till 2012, but winning a World Cup was a dream for him. He fulfilled that dream as a coach, which was also his last dance at the helm of affairs for the Indian team. After the heartbreak of the 2007 World Cup as captain and the 2023 World Cup as a coach, Dravid had a happy ending with a World Cup title under his name.
Dravid has stepped down from coaching duties for India and will look to shape the future talents. In a video posted by the Bengaluru's local cricket academy, Dravid expressed his happiness to be back at the ground and nurture the budding talents who will be eager to make a name for themselves in the Indian cricket arena.
The way Dravid celebrated in an animated fashion depicted what the victory meant to him. From lifting the World Cup trophy with immense passion to waving at the crowd during India's victory parade, Dravid was at his animated best.
Even the World Cup winning captain Rohit Sharma paid tribute to Dravid while addressing the post-match press conference and said that the outgoing coach deserved the silverware more than anyone else.
"Rahul Dravid, more than anyone of us, deserved the World Cup trophy. What he has done for Indian cricket for the past 20–25 years... I think this was the only thing that was left in his cabinet. Very happy from all of us, on behalf of the entire team, that we could do this for him. You saw how proud he was and how excited he was," Rohit said during the post-match press conference after India's win.
Source: India Today