Greg Chappell hails Rahul Dravid for India's success, says 'he picked our brains'

Former Australia skipper Greg Chappell has credited Rahul Dravid for creating a solid domestic structure in India by "developing young players and keeping them in the system". While proposing a "radical overhaul" of Australian cricket, Chappell said India and England are doing a better jobs in identifying talents than the three-time World Cup winners. The legendary cricketer further said that Australia's Test defeat earlier this year at the hands of Indian youngsters just put back the light on the superior cricketing system the Asian giant enjoys. 

"Historically we've been one of the best at developing young players and keeping them in the system, but I think that's changed in the last couple of years. I'm seeing a bunch of young players with great potential who are in limbo. That's unacceptable. We cannot afford to lose one player. India has got their act together and that's largely because (India's academy chief and former Test captain) Rahul Dravid has picked our brains, seen what we're doing, and replicated it in India and with their much larger (population) base," Chappell told cricket.com.au. 

Chappell suggested a full 10-game Sheffield Shield season before the start of the Big Bash League (BBL) would be beneficial for developing players rather than conducting the first-class tournament in installments. He said conducting five games of Sheffield Shield before the BBL and hosting the remaining five after the T20 league just "breaks up the opportunity to develop long-form batting". Chappell highlighted how BCCI conducts its full domestic season before the start of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL). 

Dravid's school of coaching

Rahul Dravid is widely regarded for his contributions not just towards Indian cricket but also to the sport in general. The former Indian skipper was appointed the head coach of India U-19 and India-A, where he helped develop a lot of young talents, who eventually went on to play for India. Under Dravid's leadership, India U-19 won the ICC World Cup in 2018 and finished runners-up in 2016. Dravid is currently the Director of Cricket Operations at National Cricket Academy, Bengaluru. Many young talents currently playing for India on the international stage have come out of Dravid's school of coaching, including Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Khaleel Ahmed, Ishan Kishan, and Avesh Khan. 

IMAGE: Twitter/PTI