No one has spoken to me about India coach job: Rahul Dravid

“Now I am part of the Rajasthan Royals coaching team and I am focussing on it only,” says Dravid.

Rahul Dravid has said that he hasn’t been approached by the Indian cricket board for the job of coaching Indian cricket team and that he will think about it if and when an offer is placed in front of him. Dravid was also very circumspect about India’s proposed tour of Pakistan due to the security issues in the neighbouring country.

“Now I am part of the Rajasthan Royals coaching team and I am focussing on it only. We will cross the bridge when we reach it. There is no need to think about those things right now. No one has spoken to me about it so there is no need to talk about it now,” Dravid said on Thursday.

There have been speculations that the board is looking at an Indian candidate to replace the former incumbent Duncan Fletcher but Dravid has a different perspective on the issue. “When you take a decision about the coach for the Indian team, you should never consider whether he is Indian or foreigner. The best person for the job, the person who is the most suitable for the post, whether he is Indian or foreigner, he should be appointed. The world has become a lot professional nowadays. You have a lot of people from India going abroad for work and similarly people from abroad come here to work. So we should not see his nationality but only see if he is suited to the job and the team and then decide on his appointment.”

Dravid was also asked about his views on the proposed India tour of Pakistan later this year for a cricket series. India last played in Pakistan in 2006 and there has been no cricket in that country ever since terrorists shot at a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers on March 3 2009. Zimbabwe was scheduled to be the first team to play in Pakistan – they were supposed to land in Pakistan on May 22 but have now sought a security report after the Wednesday incident in Karachi where gunmen attacked a passenger bus and killed 43 people. Dravid, who was the captain in India’s last tour of Pakistan in 2006, was understandably circumspect about the prospect of India touring Pakistan.

“You have a lot of issues including the security, the political situation in the two countries and it cannot unfortunately be ignored. So decisions like that in my belief are best left to the boards, to the concerned ministries. In an ideal Utopian world, yes we would like to see cricket and never like to see cricket affected by anything but we don’t live in an Utopian world. If you look at it from the cricketing perspective it is always exciting to play against Pakistan. It is terrific to play against the Pakistan team and the Pakistan cricketers. But obviously a series between India and Pakistan is more than cricket. You have to be realistic about it.”

‘process more important’

Mumbai: Ajinkya Rahane thanked former captain Rahul Dravid for the praise showered on him o n Friday, but insisted he cannot be compared to “The Wall.”

“It is a big compliment coming from Rahul bhai. It gives me motivation and inspiration to do well and work harder. For me the process is important, not the result. Over the last two years I have been doing that,” said Rahane at a promotional event.

“I feel that Rahane has been the most successful Indian Test batsman in the last one year. We played four overseas tours in the last one year and his performance was very good in all these four tours,” Dravid said.

“Some players performed in one or two series but Rahane was one player, who performed well in all the four series,” the Rajasthan Royals ‘Mentor’ said of Rahane, who scored Test centuries in New Zealand, England and Australia.

“There is always one wall, and there will always be one. I don’t think I can take his place, but there is only one wall in India and that is Rahul Dravid,” Rahane said on being compared to Dravid for his solidity in batting.

On the Royals’ dip in form after a great start in the IPL, where they are facing a do-or-die situation against title holders Kolkata Knight Riders tomorrow at the Brabourne Stadium, Rahane said it was due to the nature of T20 cricket.

“In T20, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. It’s important to play good cricket, and I feel we are doing that really well this year. It’s just about one game, if we win this and we’re through,” he added.

Source:: Indian Express