India captain Rohit Sharma wrote a heartfelt note, paying tribute to the outgoing head coach Rahul Dravid after they led the country to their second T20 World Cup title.
The successful partnership of Sharma-Dravid steered India to play finals in all three formats — the World Test Championship in 2023, the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 and the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
The T20 World Cup-winning captain took to his Instagram account and penned down an emotional post, expressing his gratitude and honour for being able to work with the legendary batter.
“Dear Rahul bhai, I have been trying to find the right words to properly express my feelings on this but I’m not sure I ever will so here’s my attempt,” Sharma posted.
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“Since my childhood days I have looked up to you just like billions of others but I was lucky enough to get to work with you this closely. You are an absolute stalwart of this game but you left all of your accolades and achievements at the door and walked in as our coach and came on a level where we all felt comfortable enough to say just about anything to you.
“That is your gift, your humility and your love for this game even after all this time. I have learnt so much from you and every memory will be cherished. My wife refers to you as my work wife and I’m lucky to get to call you that too,” Rohit captioned the post.
“This was the only thing missing from your arsenal and I’m so happy that we got to achieve it together. Rahul bhai it has been an absolute privilege to get to call you my confidant, my coach and my friend.”
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Rohit Sharma had previously unsuccessfully tried to convince Rahul Dravid to stay on as head coach before the T20 World Cup.
“I’ve enjoyed every bit of it, working with him,” Sharma told reporters before their opening game against Ireland.
“I tried convincing him to stay, but obviously there are a lot of things that he needs to look after as well.”
Meanwhile, the right-handed batter along with star batter Virat Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja have announced retirement from the T20I cricket following their World Cup victory.
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