ICC U-19 World Cup: Rahul Dravid denies entering Pakistani dressing room to console players

Pakistan Under-19 cricket team manager Nadeem Khan was in the news a few days ago for blaming ‘magic art’ for his team’s humiliating loss to arch rivals India in the recently-concluded ICC Under-19 World Cup.

“We were confident that it would be a close match but as the match progressed and our batting went down for 59 it made one wonder if there was a magic spell on the team,” Nadeem said. “It appeared as if our batsmen had no idea what was happening out on the field or how to tackle the situation and pressure.”

Although this bizarre suggestion made headlines, there was another statement made by Khan that day which caught people’s attention. He said that India Under-19 head coach Rahul Dravid came inside the Pakistani dressing room at the end of the match to console the youngsters. “It was a very nice gesture only confirming Dravid’s stature in our eyes,” Nadeem said.

As it turns out, though, Nadeem’s revelation isn’t exactly true. This story was denied by Dravid himself during a media interaction on Monday.

“I did not go into their dressing room. They had a talented left-arm fast bowler and I thought, he bowled really well in the tournament. …read more