Rahul Dravid Defined My Role, I Enjoyed Playing Under His Captaincy: Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan picked up Rahul Dravid as captain he would give his life for over Sourav Ganguly or MS Dhoni but thoroughly credited them all for their achievements. The former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes Rahul Dravid did not get enough credit for his captaincy but personally for him he did a world of good.

Dravid captained India for 79 ODIs between 2000 to 2007. He also led the national team to the 2007 World Cup, where the side had a tour to forget. Under the captaincy of Dravid, India won 42 matches in the ODI format and lost 33, with his run in Test format not so great as a captain.

Enjoyed Rahul Dravid’s captaincy, he clearly defined my role: Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan said Rahul Dravid kept a good communication with the players, and defined their role, he thus enjoyed playing under him. Pathan also credited Sourav Ganguly, his first captain, for backing him and believes Anil Kumble could have led the side for a longer period.

“It’s a tough pick but I would like to go with Rahul Dravid. Dada was my first captain, Dada backed me throughout. Anil Kumble could have led for a longer period, unfortunately, that did not happen. Achievement-wise, nobody can be compared to MS Dhoni. But I enjoyed thoroughly during Dravid’s captaincy, the reason being the communication about the role was very clear. He clearly defined my role as a captain,” Irfan Pathan told Sports Tak.

“Dravid’s captaincy is not much talked about but there was a phase when we won 14-16 matches while chasing under his leadership which was also a world record then,” he added.

Dravid, incidentally, is fifth on the list of Indian captains who have led the side most number of times in the ODIs.