Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid. Image-Twitter

Former India captain and batting legend, Rahul Dravid believes that the Indian coaches are as good as any in the world, in the technical and understanding player aspects.

Rahul Dravid, who is the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), conducted two Fast Track Level-2 coaching courses for former international and First-Class cricketers, who have played more than 75 games, helping them level up their coaching careers.

Former greats of domestic cricket such as Wasim Jaffer, Ramesh Powar, current national selector Debashish Mohanty, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, and several other cricketers were part of this course. Wasim Jaffer (Punjab Kings) and L Balaji (Chennai Super Kings) are part of IPL franchises for a long time now, and Powar is a former India Women’s team coach.

Wasim Jaffer
Wasim Jaffer. Image Credits: Twitter
“Having been involved in the IPL and in Indian cricket in all these years, I certainly feel that there are quality Indian coaches in the system and people equipped to take up important support staff positions in tournaments such as the IPL,” Rahul Dravid told Times of India.
“It’s nice to see that some of the coaches who attended the courses are already involved in the IPL and are doing well. In terms of technical knowledge and understanding of the players, I feel that our coaches are some of the best in the world.
“The proof is in the pudding. If you look at the number of young cricketers coming through the system, the technical ability and game awareness just amplifies the fact that there is a lot of good work being done by coaches at the grassroots levels,” Rahul Dravid added.

Rahul Dravid believes that about 532 coaches will be in the Indians domestic system soon

The 48-year-old asserts that more than 500 coaches are required in the domestic system. And it is only in the past couple of years that the program to install them has begun. The ground has been hit running with courses conducted even during the lockdown.
However, Rahul Dravid reckons the process could have expedited if not for the pandemic. He also spoke about a hybrid format of coaching courses.
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid (Image Credit: Twitter)

“This course was the first of the many courses that we’re now reviving. For some of the new states that have just started playing the Ranji Trophy, the BCCI has already conducted a few Level-1 courses. Even during the lockdown, one of the major things we were able to do was conduct the Level-1 courses in a hybrid (online and onsite) format.

“During the lockdown, we completed the online version of the Level-1 course for 10-11 state associations. In terms of Level-2, because we haven’t done the course for seven years, we’ve a backlog of close to 150-160 coaches.

“In a country like India, the more the number of qualified and good coaches we have, the better it is. If you consider the fact that there are 38 state teams and 7 teams per state, that means that there is a requirement of 266 coaches.

“Let’s assume each team has a head coach and assistant coach then that means that 532 coaches will be in the system,” Rahul Dravid explained further.

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