When Rahul Dravid coached India to an U-19 World Cup win in 2018 - guiding the likes of Shubman Gill and Arshdeep Singh - it seemed like it was a matter of time till he became the Head Coach of the senior India Men's cricket team. And so it proved to be. Now, as the curtains are drawn on the 2024 T20 World Cup, Rahul Dravid's two-and-a-half-year-long tenure comes to a close. Will he, nay should he, be remembered fondly for guiding India in a transitional phase despite the burning hunger for a major title?
Much like his predecessor Ravi Shastri, Rahul Dravid has possessed a dominant Indian team with very little ICC silverware to show for it. But should it define his legacy?
The undisputed best team in the world
By all stats and figures - and performances - Rahul Dravid's Team India has been the best team in the world. Team India have won 41 out of 56 ODIs, 48 out of 69 T20Is, and lost just one Test series, winning five and drawing two. In all formats, India's form has been dominant and a cut above any other team on earth.
In 2023, India walked to the Asia Cup title. And in 2024, Dravid's India held the No. 1 spot in the teams' rankings in all three formats, an unprecedented first in Indian cricket history.
At home, Australia and England have been no match for India. Away from home, India took the fight to England and South Africa, with two drawn series.
The hurt of lost Finals
2023 proved to be a year of hurt for India, as the World Test championship and ODI World Cup campaigns ended in pain in the Final. The two tournaments remain rare black spots in a shining era of Team India under Rahul Dravid.
In reality, the pain of the lost finals shows the level of dominance that Dravid's India managed to hit. India were nearly unbeaten in the 2023 World Cup and unbeaten in the 2024 T20 World Cup. It says something when a semi-final in the 2022 T20 World Cup is the worst India has done in a major ICC tournament in this period.
If anything, Dravid's era should be celebrated as one of India's finest periods, and not be looked back on with the hurt of lost finals.
Transition to the Rohit Sharma era; and transition in identity
The start of Rahul Dravid's tenure as Head Coach collided with the tumultuous change in captaincy from Virat Kohli to Rohit Sharma in all formats. But Dravid didn't look to replicate the boisterous nature of the Kohli-Shastri era. Choosing to stay behind the scenes, Dravid let Rohit Sharma's India become a cohesive unit.
But the calmer it was off the field, the bolder India played on it. Rohit led by example, going hard at the top during the World Cup and showing 'Team Comes First'. Dravid's India then out-Bazballed Baz in India.
With captaincy debuts for Hardik Pandya and Shubman Gill, a pathway for the future has also been set in stone.
Final thoughts
Dravid's era as India Head Coach ends with well-deserved silverware; this time an unbeaten tournament coming to fruition. It is a fitting finale to mark the end of another historic legacy for one of India's greatest cricket personalities.
As the famous saying goes, "Ant bhala toh sab bhala" (All's well that ends well).