Tried to convince Dravid to stay on as coach: Rohit

Rohit Sharma has disclosed that he tried to convince Rahul Dravid into continuing as India coach but the efforts were futile since he has to look after a lot of things. The India captain said this the day after Dravid declared that he is not seeking renewal of his contract as the head coach of the Indian team.

“I tried convincing him to stay but I think there are a lot of things that he needs to look after. I personally enjoyed my time with him. I’m sure the rest of the guys will say the same. It’s been great working with him and I hope I’m not going to say anything (more),” Rohit said with a lump in his voice inescapable.

Rohit and Dravid had the best of professional equation, their association as captain and coach starting in November 2021. Rohit, in fact, recalled that Dravid was his first skipper and he enjoyed working with him.

“Look, my equation with him goes a long way, a long way back from the time he came to do this job. Actually he was my first international captain when I made my debut in Ireland,” Rohit said.

“And such a big role model for all of us growing up. We watched him play and we know what he’s achieved personally as a player and also what he’s done for the team over the years. Battling out the team from difficult situations. That is what he is known for. He’s shown a lot of determination throughout his career. And that is something that when he came here as a coach, you know, I wanted to learn from him. And it’s been very fruitful. Other than the big silverware (the World Cup). I think we won all the major tournaments and series.”

Would the team want to win the World Cup for Dravid? Rohit stopped short of saying that. “I don’t want to say anything more.”

But what if the team failed once again, just like in the World Cup back home late last year? “Life goes on,” the India captain said, refusing to put any pressure or expectations on himself and the teammates. “I’m just going to go and play my game and help the team in whatever way I can and get everyone together to play as a team. That is what I’m going to be focusing on.

“Not looking at the larger picture. I don’t think those kinds of things will help so much. Staying in the present, doing the things that are required at that particular time, well, that is, that is important. So I will be focusing on that. And I am sure everyone in the team has their own way of dealing with, you know, tournaments like the World Cup.”

About the game on Wednesday, opposition Ireland and unpredictable nature of the pitch, he refused to take a serious view of things. “It’s going to be a good game. They are a good team. They play a lot of T20 cricket. A lot of the players play around the world in a lot of the leagues. So yeah, it’s going to be as competitive a game as we play with any other opposition. We just got to be looking at what we need to do as a team. And whatever they throw at us, we need to be ready with our answers as well. It’s going to be a good game,” he said, adding, “We have to be at our best to win the game. You know, that’s how T20 group cricket goes. If you lose the grip, if you lose your focus.”