Less than a week before Rahul Dravid's first major assignment in Sri Lanka as India's head coach, former all-rounder Irfan Pathan recalled an incident involving the batting great and MS Dhoni.
Following India's horror exit from the 2007 World Cup, the then skipper Dravid had motivated Irfan and Dhoni, asking the two to cheer up and not be disheartened. Irfan was a part of the Indian camp that suffered defeats against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, leading to a shock group-stage exit from the marquee 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.
Irfan was all praise for Dravid, saying that the legendary batter brings in "clear communication" while leading the side.
“It’s all about comfort. You perform much better with a coach or a captain, whom you are comfortable playing with. What Rahul Bhai brings in is - Clear communication.
"Even when he was the leader for the Indian cricket team, if anyone had any problem, they could just go up to him and talk about it very freely,” said Irfan on Star Sports’ show Game Plan.
“I remember an incident – when we lost the 2007 (ODI) World Cup - we were in West Indies - he came up to me & MS Dhoni and said, ‘look, I know we all are upset, let’s go for a movie. We went to the movie and then we had half an hour to ask him things.
"He said, yes, we lost this World Cup, we wanted to make a difference, but this is not the end of it; life is much bigger; we will come back tomorrow. That’s the kind of character he is,” Irfan added.
Dravid will be in charge of a young Indian contingent for the upcoming six-match white-ball series against Sri Lanka. Dravid, in the past, has also managed and coached the India A and the U-19 teams.
While the regular India squad will be busy in the five-Test series in England, a second team, led by Shikhar Dhawan, will tour Sri Lanka ahead of IPL 2021 and T20 World Cup. India will play three ODIs against Sri Lanka, starting on July 13, followed by as many T20Is.
Irfan also said that Dravid will play a key role in putting any struggling cricketer in a "positive frame of mind".
“He is always looking to put any cricketer in a positive frame of mind. If unfortunately (in Sri Lanka), anyone goes out of form, he will be the first one to guide him and give him confidence,” Irfan said.
