Winning U-19 World Cup not everything: Rahul Dravid

Mumbai: India’s U-19 coach Rahul Dravid played down the importance of winning the U-19 World Cup and said the real aspiration for the colts should be to see the event as a step in their long cricketing journey.

“Take this opportunity to improve and and grow as a cricketer. They need to see this event as an exposure to play in a foreign land. They should see this as a step in their journey as cricketers. Nobody wants to end up just being an U-19 player. That is not the aspiration of anybody in this dressing room. Everyone wants to go and play for India and play a World Cup for India at a senior level,” Dravid said ahead of the team’s departure to Bangladesh.

Dravid said performing in the U-19 World Cup will not guarantee recognition from the selectors.

“I keep reminding them that there are enough example of players who play at the U-19 level but have failed to make a mark at the senior level. And conversely, there are very good examples of players who have gone on to represent India after playing at this level. From here, you have to go and score at the first class and domestic level and then get that recognition from the selectors.”

The 43-year-old, who is also the coach of the India ‘A’ team, said a lot has changed since his days as the U-19 player, but one thing that remains is the ambition to play for the country.

“The level of exposure this boys have today, the level of professionalism they show for an U-19 cricketer as well the quality of support staff is incredible. The amount of camps they have has gone up. This the big difference from our times where we used to have once national camps. There was not even a World Cup in my time as a U-19 cricketer.”

The Bengaluru-based coach called for more U-19 tournaments for the players who missed out on the World Cup squad as the event is held every two years.
“Because the World Cup is held every two years, there will always be one batch that would be 19 next year, which potentially doesn’t get that kind of exposure.

And that is something we need to focus on because there was a bunch of guys who didn’t get to play any matches as there was no World Cup. There should be lot of U-19 tournaments. It shouldn’t be about the best 15 that we pick for the World Cup.

If we have two or three tours a year we can focus on the other kids, who are not part of the World Cup squad. You can never actually say which one of those players can go and play for India. The players who have missed out might go back to domestic cricket and improve. So, whether these 15 are going to be the best in two years, history tells us not necessary so.”

Dravid, who has not won a World Cup as a player, is not looking to win the tournament for himself.

“The beauty of being a coach is that it’s not in my hand. I know how much a coach can influence and impact a result and I’m realistic about that. It’s in the players hand now. It’s their opportunity to win the World Cup and not necessarily mine as a coach. Winning the world cup is not the be all or the end of the world.”