With His Experience, Rahul Dravid Can Only Raise The Bar In Time To Come - Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri, the outgoing India coach, has heaped praise for his successor, Rahul Dravid, who was announced as India’s new head coach last week.

Ravi Shastri’s tenure comes to an end on Monday, as India take on Namibia in Dubai, and Dravid’s first assignment will be the home T20I and Test series against New Zealand, starting November 17.

Ravi Shastri highlighted that Dravid will take over an established side, and using his experience, both as a player and coach, will take India to greater heights.

“In Rahul Dravid, they’ve got a guy who has inherited a great team and I think with his experience, he can only raise the bar in time to come. There are still players here who will play for another 3-4 years which is very important. It is not a team in transition and that’ll make the biggest difference,” Ravi Shastri said on Monday before the match versus Namibia.

We would have ideally liked a bigger gap between the IPL and the World Cup: Ravi Shastri

Speaking about India’s group-stage exit at the T20 World Cup, Ravi Shastri reckoned the players have been tired both physically and mentally for staying on the road and living in bio-bubbles since June.

He felt that the players needed a bigger gap than the little more than a week’s time off they got between the conclusion of the IPL 2021 and the T20 World Cup.

“I am mentally drained but I expect that at my age. These guys are physically and mentally drained, six months in a bubble and we would have ideally liked a bigger gap between the IPL and the World Cup. It’s when the big games come and when the pressure hits you – you are not that switched on as you should be. And it’s not an excuse. We take defeat because we are not scared of losing. Because in trying to win, you will lose a game. Here we didn’t try to win because that X-factor was missing,” Ravi Shastri stated.

While Dravid is set to coach the side after Ravi Shastri, the BCCI is yet to announce the new T20I captain.

Also Read: India Don’t Play Fearless Brand Of Cricket In ICC Events, Says Nasser Hussain After India’s T20 World Cup Exit