"It was a great journey" says Rahul Dravid as he signs off as India coach

BRIDGETOWN: As India lifted the prestigious T20 World Cup trophy for the second time, Rahul Dravid opened up on his role as the head coach of the Men in Blue and said that it was a great journey. India defeated South Africa by seven runs in the final match of the T20 World Cup 2024 in Barbados.

The final match of the marquee event was Dravid's last game for the Men in Blue as their head coach. Speaking to the reporters after the end of the match, Dravid thanked the Men in Blue for making him win the T20 World Cup 2024. He added that it is a nice feeling to win the prestigious trophy. The departing head coach further added that he did not do some redemption.

"As a player, I was not lucky enough to win a trophy but I tried my best whenever I played. I was lucky to get the opportunity to coach the team, I was lucky that this bunch of boys made it possible for me to be able to win this trophy. It's a great nice feeling but it doesn't feel like I have done some redemption it was just the job that I was doing. I love working with Rohit and his team, it was a great journey and I really enjoyed it...," Dravid said.

Dravid opened up on Rohit Sharma's retirement from T20Is and said that the skipper impressed him for being the kind of person he is. The former cricketer added that he was impressed to see Rohit Sharma's 'commitment'. "...I will miss him as a person... what impresses me is the kind of person he is, the respect he has shown me, the kind of care and commitment he had for the team, the kind of energy he had to spend and he never backed down. For me, it will be the person I will miss the most...," he added.

With 4231 runs in 159 games, Rohit is the format's best scorer going out. He also owns the record for most hundreds (five) in T20 internationals. He has won two T20 World Cups: the first in 2007 while competing and the current one in 2024 as captain.