Rahul Dravid is the easy answer to many of the Indian cricket team’s difficult questions

Which Indian batsman would you want to be at the crease, in a high stakes cricket game? Who at the peak of his batting form took the additional load of keeping the wickets for the sake of the team? Who did the BCCI trust to groom the country’s young talent? Who has the BCCI sent an SOS to now, as they look for a coach to work with Virat Kohli? Rahul Dravid is the easy answer to all of the above questions. Close to a decade after his retirement, the cautiously correct batsman with the famed diplomatic articulation continues to be Indian cricket’s Mr Dependable. After trying his best to avoid the two most coveted addas for retired cricketers — national team dug out and commentary box — Dravid seems to have given in. If reports are to be believed, national interest proved to be the game-changing pitch.

There’s a relatively unknown Dravid record that sums up his body of work and amplifies his coaching credentials. India’s best-ever No 3 has faced the most number of balls in the history of Test cricket. It’s proof of his solidity and the sweat he poured on pitches around the world to score his runs. Dravid’s bat was no magic wand that would be found in the kit bags of a Tendulkar or Lara. Dravid gave hope to even the less talented that stardom was attainable. He has the bandwidth to understand the present-day greats in the Indian team and also the empathy for the stragglers.

Now, for the elephant in the room, Kohli, who is said to have played a role in the sacking of coach Anil Kumble in the past. Will there be another power struggle? Kohli isn’t the Kohli of old and the times too have changed. Having quit the T20 captaincy, Kohli is no longer the unquestionable leader of the side. The emergence of Rohit Sharma has changed the power equations. Having led India in the Chappell era, Dravid is not new to dressing room intrigue. Dravid the captain couldn’t flower fully, now is his chance to make up for that.

This editorial first appeared in the print edition on October 19, 2021 under the title ‘Coach Dependable’.