Former fast bowler Zaheer Khan said that Rahul Dravid’s extension as the head coach will be crucial for the Indian team ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024 to be played in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA).
Dravid’s tenure as the head coach ended after India lost the final of the World Cup 2023 against Pat Cummins’ Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Thereafter, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) gave Dravid an extension after Ashish Nehra reported turning down the offer in the shortest format.
Zaheer said that with captains and vice-captains being changed as per the demands of the game, maintaining ‘continuity’ with the coach will be crucial for the Men in Blue.
“We’ve been talking about so many captains and vice-captains. With so much of cricket also happening, you need that continuity format, which is going to be very very important. You need that stability and how you are going to achieve when you have so many moving parts is having something which is constant,” Zaheer was quoted as saying to Cricbuzz.
“Whoever becomes the coach needs to be constant and should maintain that continuity for a while so that all the processes are followed and communicated in that regard. You form a nice setup with regard to the higher management in BCCI, to the selectors, NCA, India team and captains across formats,” he added.
The Indian team is currently in South Africa where they are scheduled to take part in a three-match T20I series, followed by as many ODIs and two Tests.
The first T20I will be played on Sunday, December 10 at the Kingsmead in Durban.