‘Boys must prove it at Ranji level’
Victorious coach Rahul Dravid says what is important is how players graduate to the next level
MUMBAI: There are a few coaches who express their happiness after winning a World Cup, a few others bask in the glory of the achievement, and then there are the likes of Rahul Dravid who simply get on with the next assignment in store.
“The 2012 final featured India and Australia. The result of the final will tell you that India beat Australia. Six years down the line only a couple of those boys have played a few One Day games for India while four or five of the Australian boys have gone on to play for Australia. More of their guys have played first-class cricket. The debatable point is who won the final if you look back six years later?”
Simply put, Dravid’s assessment of this under-19 team isn’t beyond the clichés of “they were a great side”, “they played well” and so on. His concern now revolves around guiding these young talents on to the next level. Addressing the media at a city hotel on Monday along with the under-19 World Cup team, Dravid oozed discipline and class as he delivered his thoughts on the boys’ performance.
“The real satisfaction for me has been the process that has been followed over the last 14-16 months. I think, just the whole preparation and planning that has gone into developing under-19 players, and not necessarily players in this World Cup, is a good process that we’ve put in place,” he said, with captain Prithvi Shaw sitting next to him, on the dias.
Currently coach of the India A side as well, Dravid went on to defend his team selection and clarified his stand on not bringing eligible cricketers back into the under-19 fold.
“On a personal note, I feel that once the boys are good enough, they should go out and play men’s cricket. Especially boys who are playing first-class cricket as well,” he said, referring to the likes of Shaw and Shubman Gill, who have already played Ranji Trophy for Mumbai and Punjab respectively. “There are a few who can perhaps come back and play for the under-19 World Cup team and while it might be good for the under-19 team and boost our chances of winning the World Cup, I’m not sure that’s the best thing for them and Indian cricket.”
What lies ahead for these boys? “It’s not going to be easy for them to play domestic cricket or first-class cricket now that they are known players. There’s going to be expectations that are going to come with this. But it’s also the start of the hard work for us as well because even if a lot of them don’t go on to play the World Cup for India, which isn’t an easy task, at least if they go on to play firstclass cricket well, it’s going to be a stepping stone to get into the Indian side.”