Kapil’s advice helped me explore options before choosing India A coach’s job: Dravid

Dravid said he was also “a little fortunate” that at the back end of his career he was already in a captain-cum-coach role at IPL side Rajasthan Royals. “After I finished (playing), there were quite a few options and I was not sure of what to do. It was Kapil who gave me this advice actually,” Dravid told India women’s team coach WV Raman on his Youtube channel ‘Inside Out’.

“I bumped into him somewhere and he said ‘Rahul, don’t commit to doing anything straightaway; go out and spend a few years just exploring and doing different things and see what you really like’. I think it was a good advice.” The former captain said he liked doing commentary initially, but later found “a little disconnect” from the game.

“The thing that gave me the most satisfaction was being involved in the game and being connected with the boys. I really liked the coaching side of things. I got sort of involved in that when the opportunity came up to do some coaching with the India A and Under-19 teams,” said Dravid.

“I thought it was a good place to start and took it up. I have really enjoyed it since. I just feel a lot more satisfying to be involved in the coaching side of things,” said the legend.

“Especially, the developmental side of coaching, whether it is India A, Under-19 or NCA. It has really given me the opportunity to work with a lot of the players without having to worry about the immediate results, which I think is a really nice space for me,” he added.