Rahul Dravid narrates his experience of managing India’s superstars and their egos

Rahul Dravid, the mastermind behind India's T20 World Cup 2024 triumph, opened up about the real challenges of coaching the Indian cricket team filled with a lot of superstars like captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin, and Jasprit Bumrah.

Dravid, who transitioned from U19 coaching to leading the senior team, shared the inside story of uniting a dressing room packed with iconic cricketers and a lot of positive egos and negative egos in the dressing room.

Rahul Dravid reveals secrets behind India's T20 World Cup 2024 triumph

The former Team India head coach revealed that his approach to managing the team wasn't about wrestling with egos, which is misunderstood by the people, but about connecting the collective strength of the players.

Despite the perception that managing superstars could be daunting, Dravid revealed that the real magic happened because of the mutual respect and dedication within the Indian team and it did wonders for the Men in Blue.

Rahul Dravid said in a video posted by Stars Sports on X: “I can't completely take all the credit for that. I believe the teams are really led by the group of senior players and the captain. I think it was a privilege to work with Rohit. In these two and a half years, I think he was a fantastic leader. People really gravitated towards him, and I think that makes a big difference.”

Dravid shares how he successfully coached India’s star-studded cricket team

He highlighted how senior players like Virat Kohli, Bumrah, and Ashwin demonstrated humility and an unparalleled work ethic. Dravid admitted that there is a popular belief that these cricketing icons have massive egos but revealed that this is not the truth, as they were only driven by a shared commitment to excellence to win the matches for their country.

Dravid emphasized that it was the collective effort, led by a supportive captain Rohit and a group of senior players, that made the difference and led the team to success during his tenure, where India reached the ODI World Cup final and WTC final in 2023. He also credited the successful environment to the synergy between himself, Rohit, and the senior squad members.

The former Indian head coach further explained, “I have a lot of other senior players like Virat, Bumrah, and Ashwin in Test cricket. People sometimes think that they have big egos and they are very difficult to manage just because a lot of Indian cricketers are big names and they are superstars, and rightly so, and they're followed by so many people."

It was a privilege to work with very humble superstars: Dravid

"But actually, I think it's just the opposite. A lot of these superstars are actually very humble about their preparation. They are humble about their work ethic. And that is why they are superstars. At times you have to manage them, manage their bodies, manage the workload—a lot of those things. But to be honest, it was not very difficult.”

In the end, Dravid said that it was a privilege and a pleasure for him to work with these players and expressed happiness at being able to create a good environment in the team. However, the former Indian head coach said that a lot of the credit must go to the captain, Rohit, and the senior players, who drive the team.

Some wise words from the wise man! 👏🏻

📹 | Watch former Indian Team Coach #RahulDravid discuss his biggest challenge during the #T20WorldCup2024 and the reasons behind #TeamIndia's 2nd #T20WorldCup title! 🔥#RahulDravid #Cricket pic.twitter.com/Nca50MJ6xi

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) August 7, 2024