Rahul Dravid confirmed that the ongoing ICC Men's Twenty 20 World Cup will be his last tournament as the head coach of the Indian team.
He has categorically stated that he will not apply for the position for which the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had advertised last month.
"It is going to be the last one that I am in-charge of," Dravid said ahead of India's first game against Ireland in New York. "Yeah, just considering, unfortunately, the kind of schedules and where I find myself at this stage in my life, I don't think I'll be able to re-apply. So yeah, obviously it'll be my last one. But having said that, it's (the significance of the tournament is) no different for me."
Dravid was appointed head coach in 2021 for two years but in 2023, his term was extended until the end of the T20 World Cup 2024.
Under his coaching, India have finished as runners-up in the 2023 Cricket World Cup, 2023 ICC World Test Championship and finished as semi-finalists in the 2022 T20 World Cup.
The news, however, is not a surprise as speculations have been running around of former cricketers applying for the role and according to some reports, BCCI has approached some names for the role already including Gautam Gambhir and Ashish Nehra.
However, Gambhir has no experience coaching a team at an international level but he has been the mentor of two Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in 2022 and 2023 and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2024.
Gambhir has also responded to the rumours of him becoming the next head coach of India saying, "Look, I would love to coach the Indian team. There is no bigger honour. There is no bigger honour than coaching your national team," Gambhir said during an interaction with children at an event in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. "You are representing 140 crore Indians. And more across the globe as well. And when you represent India, how can it get bigger than that?"
The next head coach of the Indian team will be revealed sometime after the T20 World Cup 2024 ends.
- Rahul Dravid
