Rahul Dravid’s India coaching tenure has thrown up more questions than answers

Rahul Dravid, a wildly successful under-19 coach, took over the coaching reigns after Ravi Shastri stepped down from the post following the 2021 T20 World Cup. Former BCCI President Sourav Ganguly later admitted that Dravid was initially reluctant to take up the job but Ganguly “kept insisting”, after which Dravid agreed to step in Shastri’s shoes. After a year in charge, the results suggest that his hesitance was well-founded.

Results

It has not been an easy tenure for Dravid so far, with his four most high-profile engagements all going awry. In Tests, India have been beaten away from home by South Africa (2-1) and conceded a record chase to England to surrender a chance of a series win. In T20Is, they have failed to make the final of either the Asia Cup or the T20 World Cup.

There have been some triumphs, with twin white-ball bilateral series wins in England standing out, and there are mitigating factors too. Dravid has not only had to deal with injuries and absences of big players on crucial tours but also has had to navigate his way through the workload management maze, heading into series without a consistent group. But the downturn under him – and captain Rohit Sharma, though he took over after the South Africa series and was absent for the England Test – is unmistakeable.

This is notable because, at the end of the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri era, there was the sense of a team on the cusp of greatness, who only needed a push to take them to the next level. India had enjoyed twin Test series wins in Australia and had taken a 2-1 lead in England before it was postponed. Victory in South Africa and avoiding defeat at Edgbaston would have completed a famous triumvirate of overseas series wins. Instead, the chance went begging.

When Rohit Sharma took on the captaincy in T20Is last year soon after the early ouster in the 2021 T20 World Cup, he spoke at length about playing with aggression and ‘intent’ – words that had been missing from their vocabulary. The captain himself failed to walk the talk with a 28-ball 27 in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup. The manner of capitulation, coming months after an early exit in the Asia Cup, indicates a management that only hyped up the changes without making solid progress.

Tactics

There are more than just results to raise concern too, with issues over tactics and team selection raising their heads. In the second Test against South Africa, when KL Rahul was the skipper after Kohli missed out due to injury, India looked short of ideas and lacking in confidence. A BCCI official later assessed Rahul’s leadership: “Did KL Rahul, by any stretch, look like a captain?” However, according to reports, it was Dravid who shortlisted Rahul as a long-term captaincy option, with the latter first being named the vice-captain of India in the South Africa Tests.

Rahul, who led India in the ODI series against South Africa after Kohli’s axing as skipper from the format, saw India to a 3-0 defeat, appearing to be a reluctant captain rather than a proactive one. Rahul continues to be India’s vice-captain, but with Hardik Pandya appearing to be a more hands-on skipper with natural leadership skills, it remains to be seen if Rahul is a contender in the future.

In the third Test in South Africa, Kohli returned, but the string of poor decisions continued. None of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami or Shardul Thakur bowled on the fourth day when India needed to tighten the game was questionable. The fielders were spread out, and with R Ashwin bowling over-defensively as well, as the match slipped away and India were unable to complete their mission of world domination.

Dravid also had another headache when Rohit missed the last Test against England due to Covid-19 this year, with Bumrah stepping in to lead the side as they looked to win their first series in the country since 2007. The team was unable to capitalise on their lead and lost the game handsomely as a number of decisions were questioned.

Ravindra Jadeja came on to bowl 13 overs into the session on day five, with India’s chances already minimal, and only after the unimpressive Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur had been given a go, much to the surprise of former head coach Shastri, who, on commentary, wondered why the left-armer had not been brought on earlier. The all-rounder can take advantage of the rough, and often bamboozles batters with his straighter delivery, thus getting the lbw into play.

The performance of the players on the field is not largely down to Dravid, but he has a share of the responsibility for any tactical blunders. Shastri would pass on his suggestions to his players from the sidelines – as famously narrated by Ashwin – which Dravid may or may not be doing. If he isn’t, India needs him too. If he is, that’s arguably more worrying.

After the toss against England in the semi-final, Rohit stated that he would have wanted to bat first if the coin had gone India’s way. Setting a target in T20Is has never been India’s strength and with the way their openers were going, chasing was always the best option if they had a choice. It did not come down to that, with Jos Buttler winning the toss, but the pitch got easier to bat on as the game progressed, and the management’s thought process was faulted. Even during the game, Arshdeep Singh, arguably India’s find of the tournament, bowled only two overs while the others kept getting smashed. Rohit later threw the bowlers under the bus after the defeat, despite himself scoring 27 off 28.

Selections

The Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup misses also throw light on a number of questionable moves by the management, both with team selections and on-field decisions.

Why was Venkatesh Iyer suddenly ousted from the team after a string of impressive showings for India, for Deepak Hooda? Though Hooda latched onto his chances, he does not fit into the side when we consider the places that were up for grabs. Hooda, largely backed by Dravid even in his under-19 days, is a top-order player who can bowl off-spin, while Venkatesh can bat anywhere in the order, offers a left-handed option and can bowl seam with his skills coming to the fore in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Hooda was picked in the T20 World Cup squad and played against South Africa, but batted at five – not his best position – and did not bowl a single over.

The team also decided to back Avesh Khan, without desired results, instead of giving Umran Malik, a fast bowler who could have been handy in Australia, a longer rope. Sanju Samson was shortlisted by Rohit as a player who could have an impact in Australian conditions, but the wicketkeeper failed to even make the squad for the two T20 tournaments, with Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant – a player who has not been able to crack the T20 code – preferred over him.

Karthik was the management’s first-choice keeper, and the team assigned him a designated finisher’s role, despite being aware that his presence would leave the team without a left-hander in the top six. He was persisted with, playing over Pant in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup, but a couple of failures in the tournament saw them ditch their plans, with Pant, with not enough match practice, back in the XI.

The case of Ravi Bishnoi is a mysterious one too. The youngster was the most impressive bowler for India in their loss against Pakistan in the Asia Cup, conceding 6.50 an over, but has not played a T20I since. Picked as a standby for the T20 World Cup, Bishnoi, who has even impressed Ian Bishop in the IPL, has not been selected in the squad for the upcoming tour of New Zealand. Another youngster, Prithvi Shaw, is nowhere near the horizon, while Shubman Gill – a batter who is suited more for Tests and ODIs – has been picked.

Rohit’s idea to go back to Ashwin in T20Is after a four-year gap, the sudden move to get Mohammad Shami in the squad after informing the bowler that he was no longer in their plans and even the decision to bench Ruturaj Gaikwad in ODIs – his stronger format – while he played T20Is indicate a lack of future planning. During the T20 World Cup, where wrist spinners reigned, Yuzvendra Chahal continued waiting on the sidelines even though the defensive bowling of Ashwin proved ineffective. The lack of an all-rounder after Jadeja’s injury could be the reason for playing Ashwin, but India, and Dravid, should have always prepared for such a scenario.

Instead of making a team for the future, most of the decisions taken under Dravid’s regime seem like knee-jerk reactions due to a fear of failure. With the entire focus being on match-ups, somewhere the human instincts that ultimately differentiate a good leader from an ordinary one have taken a back seat. MS Dhoni’s decision to hand the last over to Joginder Sharma against Pakistan in the 2007 T20 World Cup remains the prime example.

While analytics cannot and should not be discarded, they do not convey the real potential of a certain player. Dravid, and Rohit, both have to move away from their bias, picking cricketers based on how they feel about them and have to bring in continuity to the set-up. Much was said about changing India’s approaches after the T20 World Cup ouster last year, but they flew with a similar squad to Australia, and have not brought in any wholesale changes. Players do not seem to be fully aware of their roles, Rohit is vocal and flustered when things do not go his way, and Dravid seems to be lacking answers when prodded about the future. The duo of Rohit and Dravid were expected to make Indian cricket richer, and there is still time for them to turn things around, but for now, the side looks in a bigger mess than when they took over.

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