Rahul Dravid is known for his clear communication skills, making him an excellent man manager. However, he can also convey his message without words when necessary. Before the T20 World Cup final, the India head coach used a simple yet impactful two-slide presentation to motivate his players. After India’s thrilling seven-run victory over South Africa, which ended a 13-year World Cup drought, Suryakumar Yadav shared how Dravid’s presentation inspired the team to rise to the occasion.
Suryakumar, who made a crucial catch of David Miller in the last over, explained that Dravid showed a graph of the total T20I matches played by the Indian team members, including captain Rohit Sharma, veteran Virat Kohli, and the youngest player, Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The following slide displayed the number of T20I games played by India’s coaching staff—Dravid, batting coach Vikram Rathour, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, and fielding coach T Dilip. Notably, Dravid is the only one among them who has played T20Is at the highest level, with his first and only T20I against England marking his retirement from white-ball cricket.
“He showed a graph of the number of T20I games the entire Indian team had played — from Virat bhai to Yashasvi Jaiswal (the most junior member). That number was 800-plus,” Suryakumar told The Indian Express. “And then he showed a second slide that had the number of games that the entire coaching staff, including Rahul bhai, had played — that number was 1.”
The extensive experience in T20 cricket, thanks to the IPL and Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s, was highlighted by Dravid. Even the youngest team member, Jaiswal, has played 98 T20s, including 17 T20Is, while Rohit and Virat have a combined total of 284 T20I matches.
Dravid’s point was clear: the players were best equipped to make the right decisions on the field. “He (Dravid) said to us, ‘You are the best judge here to make the right call at the right time. So leave every other thing to us, go out there and enjoy your game’,” Suryakumar recounted.
India’s flawless performance in the T20 World Cup, where they didn’t lose a single match, underscored their dominance. In the final phase of Dravid’s tenure, India reached the finals of all three ICC events within 13 months, losing only one out of 20 matches in the last two World Cups.
The team’s guiding principle was to focus on the present and not worry about the future. “Before the start, we decided that we won’t talk about what lies ahead in the tournament. Nobody thought about Super 8 and the same was true for the finals in Barbados. Our mind has to be where our feet are — that was our motto,” Suryakumar said.