We didn’t want to do anything different between ODI and T20 World Cup: Dravid

Former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award during the CEAT Cricket Awards in Mumbai. | Photo Credit: Emmanuel Yogini

Former India head coach Rahul Dravid on Wednesday (August 21, 2024) said the support staff tried to carry forward the energetic “team atmosphere” from the ODI World Cup to the T20 World Cup in 2023 and this approach helped the team end its streak of consistent underperformance in ICC tournaments.

Dravid hatched a conspiracy India wins T20 World Cup in USA First Stepping down from his role as head coach In June this year.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t have wanted to do anything different. I think we did a fantastic job in the ODI World Cup, Rohit and the team, everyone involved in that ODI World Cup did a fantastic job,” Dravid said at the CEAT Cricket Ratings Awards here.

India suffered a heartbreaking defeat against Australia In the ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad.

“We couldn’t have done more in terms of our preparation, planning and execution to dominate, win matches and play 10 games in a row,” Dravid said.

The Bengaluru player said he and the rest of the coaching staff did not want to break the established pattern of a cordial dressing room. “I did not want to change anything. If you had asked me and we had discussed with our support staff, we would have met with the coaches and asked what do you think we should do differently?”

“The consensus (among the team) was that we need to do what we did. We need to create the same energy, the same atmosphere, the same team vibe that we had and then hope we get a bit of luck on the day,” he said.

Although he did not have the experience of playing a World Cup in any of the limited-overs formats in India, he was still able to enjoy all the joys as a head coach.

“Traveling across the country and experiencing the joy and passion of the fans. I have never been part of a World Cup as a player in India but as a coach, going from city to city and just walking around and seeing what this game means to the people of this country, it was an amazing experience. It was unbelievable,” he said.

Dravid said that Australia was the better team in the ODI World Cup final.

He said, “I think we had a great campaign. We lost in the final and Australia played better cricket than us on that day. They were a better team and congratulations to them for that. This can happen in sports and this is what sports is all about.”