Rahul Dravid was appointed the India U-19 and India A coach last week and has already set his sights on taking Indian cricket to new heights. Dravid also says that his role with the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the last two seasons will help him in his new job as coach. He also aims to build the best possible team for the upcoming ICC Under-19 World Cup 2016. READ: Rahul Dravid appointed India A and India Under-19 coach
Dravid however believes that this is an opportunity for him to share his experience with the youngsters. “I just think this is an opportunity for me to share my experiences and what I have learnt from the game with the next generation of cricketers coming through. It gives me an opportunity to hopefully try and help them in their journeys and their dreams and aspirations of making it to the next level,” said Dravid in an interview to bcci.tv. READ: Rahul Dravid excited to assume role of India A, India Under-19 coach
Dravid explains how being the mentor and coach of RR convinced him to believe that he can be a successful coach at the national level. “I think everything is a learning experience and you learn all the time. Being mentor for the Rajasthan Royals for the last couple of years gave me a good perspective of things from the other side of the fence – from a support side, coaching and management side of things,” said the former Indian captain. READ:Kevin Pietersen praises BCCI for appointing Rahul Dravid as India U-19, India A Coach
As of this moment Dravid believes that his job will be to built a good team for the upcoming U-19 World Cup, along with the guidance of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). “I am still having discussions with people in the BCCI as to how you can create the right environment. At the moment it is about focusing on the A team and U-19 team and looking to try and build the best U-19 team that India can take to the World Cup next year,” Dravid said. READ: Rahul Dravid: I am not thinking about India head coach role
“Even from smaller towns and cities you find players coming through with a lot more game awareness than in the past because they have played a lot more. By the time you have come to the U-19 level you have probably played a lot of U-16 and U-14 cricket. There are just so many games that you have played that there is always something to learn from every game. A lot of them are touring and travelling a lot more than what we ever did,” Dravid said when questioned if people in the country are aware of the game. READ: Rahul Dravid’s appointment as India A and India Under-19 coach a masterstroke by BCCI
Dravid also spoke of the vision and the challenge he has for Indian cricket for the future. Dravid says, “It is challenging for me and this is something that I am excited about. I have always been excited about the part of being hands on and working on the ground and getting involved with the players. It is an opportunity for me to work with a lot of young cricketers. It is also good to recognise that at the India A level it is not about necessarily the results and the matches that you play but it is also about how you develop the kind of cricketers India needs or India wants.”
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