Published: Sep 01, 2024, 05:10 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 01, 2024, 05:10 PM (IST)
Samit Dravid, the son of legendary Indian batter Rahul Dravid has learned how to handle the pressure of his surname over the years and that has probably helped him a lot in his selection to the India U-19 squad for the upcoming multi-format series against Australia. The series will be played in September and October.
A day after BCCI made the big announcement, Samit’s childhood coach Karthik Jeshwanth revealed that he and Rahul have both repeatedly reminded him through the years that he will strictly be judged on his performance and will have to learn to adapt to the continuous noise regarding his surname.
“Samit has grown up knowing what his father’s stature is and knows that there is going to be a lot of pressure. So that’s what Rahul and myself have been telling him, not to be bothered about any outside noise or attention. He will be judged on his own skills and what he does on the field. He has to learn to live with the attention without it affecting his batting,” Jeshwanth said.
Samit, who plays as an all-rounder, is currently in action in the Maharaja T20 Trophy for the Mysuru Warriors. He hasn’t had a great tournament so far as in 7 innings, he has scored 82 runs at a strike rate of 114. Samit also hasn’t gotten a chance to show his fast-bowling skills so far in the tournament.
However, the primary reason behind his U-19 selection was his brilliant performance in the Cooch Behar Trophy where he helped Karnataka in winning the trophy for the first time in history. He scored 362 runs and picked up 16 wickets in only 8 matches for Karnataka.
“I can’t even imagine the pressure of the shoes he has to fill. But we make sure that in our team that we don’t discuss all that. Luckily for us, the boy is grounded, sweet, and all his team-mates have nothing but good stuff to share about him. He is pretty easy-going. He has no airs about where he comes from,” Mysuru Warriors coach RX Murali said.
