Dravid, the India A and Under 19 coach, has worked with both players, and welcomed the decision of the CoA to lift the suspension on the duo, who are accused of bringing the game into disrepute with their remarks in talk show that were considered sexist and racist, until the investigation into the incident is completed.

“No one is brushing this under the carpet,” he said in an interview to ESPNcricinfo. “[But] we also need to ensure we don’t overreact. At no stage are you condoning their action or the behaviour.

[caption id=”attachment_96388″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] ‘There are many places where you can use the opportunity to support and help the youngsters’ – Dravid[/caption]

“Hopefully they will come back better and stronger from this. I will say honestly, I do believe that both of them have not yet achieved their obvious potential that they both have, and maybe this might be the catalyst that would lead them to reflect and help them reach the level and potential they can achieve in all forms of the game. If they can do that they can certainly be role models.”

Through the controversy, a big talking point has been about what the BCCI has been doing to sensitise players as they rise to the highest levels. The drastic social change in wealth and stardom that a national cap, or even an IPL contract brings, has come in for particular scrutiny.

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Dravid, in his role working with the next generation, has stressed on the importance of mentoring players, rather than just training them, to prepare them for the responsibilities of being cricketers in cricket-crazy India. At the National Cricket Academy, he has been instrumental in getting professionals come in to talk to youngsters about media, finance, mental strength and personal development, among other aspects.

He agreed that the BCCI has a role to play, but insisted that sensitisation had to start much before. “Young players go through a journey,” he pointed out. “Junior teams at the state level, junior teams at the national level, first-class teams, A teams, IPL teams. So there are many places where you can use the opportunity to support and help the youngsters.”

With the suspension on him lifted, Hardik Pandya joins the India squad in New Zealand.

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— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) January 25, 2019

If a sense of entitlement was built, it was not only because of wealth, he explained; it was also because of how the child’s parents and early coaches treated them.

“The first is what kids are taught by their parents and early coaches,” he said. “If people have been told they can fudge their age, that is the start of a problem … If a parent is shouting at a coach and blaming a coach or umpire when things go wrong, to a young, impressionable kid, he grows up thinking that is the way things should be done.

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“The second key point, I feel, that can help youngsters is the role a senior player plays. Seniors in cricket teams can play a huge role in guiding and helping a youngster – not necessarily with words but by setting the right example.

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“I have always stressed this to the India A players that they need to be role models when they go back to their first-class teams,” he added. “Nothing disappoints me more than when a state coach comes to me and says so-and-so does not play our Ranji matches with seriousness; and he is a senior guy is not setting the right example.”