Ravi Shastri avers Rahul Dravid 'right person' to succeed him as Team India's head coach

A few days back, former cricketing legend Rahul Dravid was announced as Team India's new head coach for all formats after taking over from Ravi Shastri. Dravid's first challenge will be a three-match T20I series against New Zealand in India. Former head coach Shastri, in an exclusive interview with Republic Media Network Editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami on Friday, was asked what would be the one piece of advice he would give to the incoming coach Rahul Dravid.

Shastri's response was simple and to the point, he said that Dravid knows exactly what to do and he's inherited a great cricket team. The former Team India coach continued by saying that with Dravid's knowledge of the game and coaching style of the younger team he will raise the bar further and said that Dravid is the right person for the job.

"I think he knows exactly what to do. He's inherited a great cricket team and with his stature, with his knowledge of the game, he's been hands-on with the coaching with the younger team, I think he'll only raise the bar further and I wish him all the luck. He is just the right person for this job at this moment of time," said Ravi Shastri.

How Dravid can help the team move forward

Given Rahul Dravid's history of coaching the under-19 Indian team, he will definitely have an idea on which players could make a dent if selected for the senior team. It will be interesting to see how his strategy plays out because all the players that will be competing for a spot in the senior team would have been groomed by Dravid himself. Some of the young stars who have begun to shine like Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Siraj, Prithvi Shaw, and Mayank Agarwal have all played under Dravid's guidance and soon they will make their breakthrough to the senior team. 

While young talents are something that Dravid will definitely focus on, he will also be trying to bring up all-round talent. It is something India desperately needs with the current batch of all-rounders reaching the twilight of their careers. Adding all-rounders to the team not only brings strength to the lineup but also adds relief for bowlers, flexibility with the lineup and less worry about the number of specialists in the team.

Image: PTI