While India Men have not done well in overseas Test matches of late, it is unfair to single out head coach Rahul Dravid for that, writes Abhishek Mukherjee.
In an encore of the 2019-21 edition, India made it to the final of the 2021-23 World Test Championship final, only to fall short at the final hurdle. However, there was a significant difference in their performances in the two leagues.
India beat West Indies 2-0 soon after the 2019 World Cup, but were routed 0-2 in New Zealand in 2019/20, losing both Test matches convincingly. However, on the other side of the global pandemic, they scripted arguably their greatest ever win – a come-from-behind triumph in Australia with 20 cricketers involved, several of them debutants.
At home, they won eight Test matches and lost one to storm into the final. There was little doubt over them being the best side of the league stage.
They began the 2021-23 season with a 2-1 lead in England and a 1-0 win against New Zealand at home. In between the two events, head coach Ravi Shastri’s tenure came to an end: the BCCI replaced him with Rahul Dravid.
Dravid’s credentials as a cricketer (fourth-most runs and most catches among fielders in Test cricket) are unquestionable. As captain, he had led India to their first ever Test match wins in Pakistan and South Africa, and long-awaited series wins in the West Indies and England. In ODIs, he opted for a bowl-first approach, and India won 17 consecutive ODIs while chasing.
As coach, he had done an excellent job with India A, and had won the Under-19 World Cup in 2018. Behind the scenes as the NCA, he was responsible as the Indian team went from strength to strength.
Given his CV, Dravid was an obvious choice for the role of the head coach. There was little wonder that the BCCI pursued and convinced Dravid despite his initial reluctance.
Ajinkya Rahane led India in Dravid’s first Test match as head coach as Kohli opted out. India came within a wicket of going 1-0 up against New Zealand, but Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel thwarted them for 52 balls to save the Test match. India then sealed the series with a comfortable win.
In South Africa, India were again without Kohli in the second Test, and without Ravindra Jadeja – who had missed the second Test against New Zealand – for the entire tour. After trailing 0-1, South Africa came back to clinch the series 2-1.
Kohli stepped down as Test captain after the series. Under Rohit Sharma, India swept Sri Lanka aside by a 2-0 margin at home, but they had to return to England for the fifth Test match of the previous year’s series.
Yet again, India had a different captain. Neither captain Rohit nor vice-captain KL Rahul (who had led in South Africa in Kohli’s absence) was available, and Jasprit Bumrah led India for the first time.
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Eight Test matches into his stint, Dravid had already worked with five Test captains. Worse, India also missed Rohit and Rahul, not merely their two openers but India’s best batters in the 2021 leg of the series. In their absence, India had to promote Cheteshwar Pujara to the top of the order.
Jonny Bairstow first pulverised them, then returned to complete the job in Joe Root’s company. While it was a solitary Test match, the defeat prevented India from winning their first series in England since 2007, and pushed their quest for the WTC final back by 12 points.
Despite the jitters in the second Test match (and Rohit’s continued absence), India clinched the series 2-0 on their Bangladesh tour. At home, without Rishabh Pant, they beat Australia 2-1 – a margin identical to their 2016/17 triumph.
Three months later, the Indian cricketers arrived at the Kia Oval, jaded after a packed IPL season without three first-choice cricketers – Pant, Bumrah, and Shreyas Iyer – with little recent practice either in the format or the conditions.
The World Test Championship final was their second Test match outside Asia in close to a year and a half. India conceded the advantage in the second session of the match, allowing Steve Smith and Travis Head to add 285: they lost by a margin smaller than the partnership.
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Heads are likely to roll in the aftermath of the defeat, as it often has throughout the history of sport. Yet, it will be unfair to take a harsh call on a coach who has seldom had a steady unit – or captain – to work with during his stint.
While Dravid the coach has not quite taken Indian cricket by storm, the least he deserves is a reasonable stint with a settled unit.
