Rahul Dravid Tells Angry BCCI Bosses The Main Reason Behind World Cup Final Loss: Report

India head coach Rahul Dravid has reportedly pinned the blame on the pitch for India’s loss in the final of the recently-concluded ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

The Men in Blue were the most dominant team in the tournament and were beating teams with utmost ease before their winning streak came to an end in the final. The Rohit Sharma-led side stormed into the final after winning all nine league games convincingly before thrashing New Zealand by 70 runs in the semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium.

India were the firm favourites to win the final too. However, Australia thoroughly dominated the contest and completely outplayed the fancied hosts to win the game by six wickets. The Pat Cummins-led side bowled out India for a modest total of 240 runs before chasing it down in 43 overs to clinch a record-extending sixth World Cup title for Australia.

Rahul Dravid on India’s loss in World Cup final:

The final was played on a used pitch and many believe that not playing on a fresh pitch backfired for Team India’s aggressive approach. India’s batters struggled on the pitch as they managed only 240 runs in 50 overs. However, head coach Rahul Dravid has reportedly come up with a different reason for the loss.

According to Dainik Jagran, Rahul Dravid has said the lack of turn on the pitch was the reason behind the loss. He explained the reason to the BCCI officials during a meeting in Delhi on Thursday (November 30). The former India skipper stated that the ball did not turn as much as the team was expecting.

He also said that India’s spinners would have powered the team to win had they got the support from the pitch. Both Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav went wicketless in the game. Rahul Dravid also told the BCCI bosses that he had worked on that strategy in the last 10 matches. The report further stated that BCCI officials were not happy with the loss and expressed their disappointment to the team management.

गुरुवार को वनडे विश्व कप की रिव्यू मीटिंग में फाइनल की हार का क्या कारण बताया गया बीसीसीआइ पदाधिकारियों को…क्या बात हुई रिव्यू मीटिंग में? रिव्यू मीटिंग के द्रविड़ बोले कि जितनी उम्मीद की थी पिच पर गेंद उतनी टर्न नहीं हुई। जब उनसे इस रणनीति के बारे में पूछा गया तो उन्होंने कहा… pic.twitter.com/V5PknLsqp1

— Abhishek Tripathi / अभिषेक त्रिपाठी (@abhishereporter) December 2, 2023

Meanwhile, the BCCI has extended Rahul Dravid’s contract as the head coach of the team. His contract expired after the World Cup. According to reports, the new contract will end after the T20 World Cup next year.