Former India cricket team member Robin Uthappa asked fans to give some time to Rahul Dravid who would be starting his job as the head coach of the Indian cricket team today. Indian team will face New Zealand in a T20I series starting from November 17 under the new T20I skipper Rohit Sharma.
Uthappa on Dravid
No wonder fans cannot wait to see Rahul Dravid doing wonders as the Indian cricket team head coach, especially in the limited-overs cricket. But Robin Uthappa believes that he should be given enough time to settle in. While speaking on ESPNcricinfo, Uthappa said, “Obviously when Rahul Dravid becomes a coach, expectations tend to rise up automatically. But I think as supporters of the Indian team we should give him time to settle in and make his space in the team. We can’t expect results from the get-go.”
He added, “Yes we have a great team and results will come our way, but when you’re looking at big tournaments, if he gets one or one and a half year, he (Rahul Dravid) will have his time to build a team.”
Dravid on His New Job
Rahul Dravid, on the other hand, ahead of the first T20I spoke in detail about his new role and planning. “You have to win now but you also have to keep one eye to the future. You have to plan and prepare for the big tournaments. We have them coming up in the next couple of years and we have to think about those things as well.” He added, “It’s a balance that you need to strike and that’s happening in day to day functioning. It’s hard to put down how exactly you will do it but yeah, we’ll keep both things in mind and certainly, it’s one of the goals. Thinking long term and thinking about what’s in the future certainly is my job as a coach and that won’t that won’t change irrespective of whichever team you’re in, you’re coaching.”
In his first media interaction as the coach, Dravid further spoke about the ICC events that would be covered in his tenure of two years. “I think all the three formats are critically important for us. There’s going to be no let up in the way we prepare or the way we plan for any of the three formats. Obviously, in the next two years, there are three ICC events and we need to prepare for all those events,” Dravid said.
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