Rahul Dravid: Did not go into Pakistan dressing room post ICC U-19 World Cup semis

Mumbai: The triumphant Indian Under-19 World Cup team is back from New Zealand and the accolades won’t stop for a while for Prithvi Shaw and co. While the boys did remarkably well to help India capture their record fourth World Cup title, coach Rahul Dravid’s contribution and selfless attitude won a lot of plaudits.

Amidst all the celebrations and revelry, it was also reported that Dravid visited Pakistan’s dressing room following the India versus Pakistan clash in the semifinal.

Pakistan’s team manager Nadeem Khan, who had also claimed that his team lost the semifinal against India due to “magic art”, discussed the Dravid visit.

"It was a very nice gesture only confirming Dravid's stature in our eyes," Khan had said.

However, Dravid, when asked about the incident during the press conference on Monday, clarified that he did not visit the Pakistan dressing room but spoke with one of their promising left-arm pacer after the semifinal.

“I did not go into their dressing room. They had a talented left-arm fast bowler and I thought, he bowled really well in the tournament. So, I just congratulated him. I met him outside their dressing room and said, well done in the tournament. It’s nice. As a coach, it is exciting to see a good talent. We had some great talent and they were very appreciative of our cricketers as well. Their coaches mentioned to me so many times that the standard of cricket we have seen your guys play is a benchmark for a lot of us. They were very effusive in their praise and I also acknowledged the fact that they had some very good talent as well,” Dravid said.