When it comes to their batting ideologies, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid are like fire and ice—opposites; In the ODIs, Dravid anchors and carefully rotates the strike, but Rohit now likes to open fire on the bowlers and attack the opposition from the first ball.
When it comes to their batting ideologies, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid are like fire and ice—opposites. In the ODIs, Dravid anchors and carefully rotates the strike, but Rohit now likes to open fire on the bowlers and attack the opposition from the first ball. While Rohit’s strike rate has risen to about 125 in the ongoing World Cup, Dravid’s lifetime strike rate was only 71.
They become a unified team when they come together, skillfully fusing their disparate styles for a common cause. Their compatibility serves as evidence for the opposites attract theory.
If India wins the World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, it’s unclear if the players will carry the coach on their shoulders. However, on the eve of the tournament, Rohit gave the coach the highest praise possible.
“What he has done for Indian cricket is massive. And he also feels that he wants to be part of this big occasion. And it’s for us to do it for him.”
The captain focused on how the coach helped the players by allowing them to be free and supporting them all the way. Besides, he also emphasized on the role clarity for the players.
“There’s one thing for me to think about and the other thing for the coach to not agree to certain things. Clearly, looking at how Rahul Bhai himself has played his cricket and how I am playing these days, obviously, it’s quite contrasting. For him to agree and give me that freedom and liberty to go and play the way we want to play, says a lot about him.
“Also, the way he stood by the players in difficult times where during the T20 World Cup, we had a good run up until that semi-final and we lost and how he reacted to certain situations and informing the players about this is what we are looking at and all of that says a lot about him as well.”
The most crucial element between the coaches is trust; the captain and coach have generally agreed on all issues; otherwise, the campaigns could be derailed.
However, the captain and coach have combined to produce a style of cricket that has left everyone in the world of cricket in awe. Again, Rohit emphasizes how important it is for Dravid to let the players know exactly what is expected of them.
“If you have decided something we have to go and implement that,”
the captain said.
“Obviously, the roles have been given to certain individuals as to what their roles are for this team and what can benefit the team. And I think 99.9% of us played that brand of cricket. 1% that 0.1% I have taken out because you cannot always be perfect. That’s why I have just taken out that 0.1% but I am very pleased with the messaging that I and Rahul have given to the boys and boys have responded to that pretty well.”
By giving the players a sense of stability and supporting them through good times and bad—more like good times than bad—Dravid has done the team a favor. For example, Shreyas Iyer initially struggled to score runs and his ability to play the short ball was questioned.
There was no permanent No 4 in England and Iyer gave solidity to the position that Dravid supported him making the 2019 and 2023 campaigns different from one other. The team is now competing for the World Cup after losing in the semifinals four years ago.
“Without worrying about their place in the team, without worrying about the scores that they get, and without even worrying about what happens outside. That is the most important part because that environment that we’ve created is a very special one and we want to maintain that environment as long as possible and not get faced by what happens outside or what people talk about or if the score doesn’t come from individuals, I don’t want them to change the thought process that they were in before the start of the tournament. So, all those things are very clear to everyone. And I thought in these entire 10 games that we played; we were quite straightforward with that thought,” Rohit elaborated on the point.
Rohit has been incredibly aggressive in the World Cup and he explained their approach.
“I did want to play in a certain manner. I had no idea that it was going to come off or what if it didn’t come off. I had plans for both, if it comes off what I’m going to do in the next game, if it doesn’t come off what I’m going to do in the next game.
“But like see for me what is important is because I start the innings, there is a bit of freedom there for me to go and express myself but you must have seen in that game against England where I had to change my game a little bit once we lost a few wickets and then I had to change my game a little bit. I’m prepared to do that as well. That is what the experienced player needs to do,”
the captain said.
With that strategy, he has scored 550 at a strike rate of 124.15 and an average of 55, setting the platform for India’s dominating victories.
The final match of the World Cup 2023 will be played between India and Australia in Ahmedabad on 19th November.
India squad for CWC 2023: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishan Kishan, Surya Kumar Yadav.
Australia squad for CWC 2023: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc.