Former Indian cricketer and the current head of the NCA (National Cricket Academy), Rahul Dravid, has expressed his disappointment over Indian coaches not getting enough opportunities in the IPL (Indian Premier League). Dravid believes more Indian coaches should be given more opportunities in the Indian Premier League as assistants because they have better local knowledge and can help in scouting young talent from the grassroots level.
Rahul Dravid is regarded as one of the finest Indian batsmen. He retired from the game in the year 2012. The former cricketer served as the head coach of the Indian Under-19 and India A sides and continues to monitor their progress as the head of cricket operations at the National Cricket Academy. Under the guidance of ‘The Wall’, India U-19 side has won the World Cup in 2018.
Here Dravid Says Why He Is Disappointed
“Honestly, there are so many Indian players in the IPL and there’s so much of local knowledge [among our coaches]. I feel a lot of teams that could actually benefit from using a lot of our Indian coaches in the IPL. They know the Indian players better, and they understand them better. Even assistant coaches have a lot of talent and ability. It just needs to give them an opportunity, and flourish,” says Dravid.
IPL is the most successful league all over the world. It has been producing new talent like Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, and Deepak Chahar, who have all risen through the ranks of the IPL. They are now playing a vital role in the current Indian team. However, Indian coaches have not been offered significant opportunities in the IPL. Dravid feels teams of IPL are missing a trick by not appointing Indian coaches.
Former Indian cricketer said, “A part of our goal is to create a program for coaches as well so that we can give them certain skills in which they can develop and hopefully then get the opportunities to work at a slightly higher level.”
“I think a lot of IPL teams miss a trick by not using more domestic talent in the coaching area and the talent identification area, even if it is as assistants. That’s my personal opinion,” Rahul Dravid added.
