Rahul Dravid with Indian team after T20 World Cup triumph.© AFP
Former Indian skipper and head coach Rahul Dravid opened up on his celebrations while lifting the ICC T20 World Cup this year in his final coaching assignment with the Men in Blue, saying that his joyous, energetic celebrations was just "happiness and relief coming out". When India lifted the Men's T20 World Cup 2024 trophy, their first senior ICC title in 11 years, on 29 June, the usually reserved Rahul Dravid joined the revelry and let out a celebratory outburst after being invited on the stage by the players.
Looking back at the occasion, Dravid revealed that it was a spontaneous reaction informed by his joy for his players and the support staff.
"It just comes out. You do not plan these things," Dravid said during a Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) interview with Star Sports as quoted by ICC.
"You do not think about these things. Most times, I try to keep my emotions in check as a coach. You are expected to do that. To be honest, I felt really happy for the team. I felt happy for all the boys, for the support staff, and so many people who had worked hard along with me," he added.
Dravid added that more than anything else, it was relief over India's triumph, after their recent near-misses in the ICC tournaments. In 2023 itself, India made the finals of two senior Men's ICC events, the World Test Championship final and the Cricket World Cup, but lost to Australia on both occasions.
"Not only in that tournament. I had been around for two and a half to three years. And we had come close a number of times: the semi-finals of the last T20 World Cup in Australia [in 2022], the finals of the World Test Championship, and the 50-over World Cup in India," said Dravid.
"And we were just not able to cross the line at the critical moment We were playing good cricket, we were playing strength to strength. But even in those situations, you need a bit of luck, a bit of destiny to go your way and I think that was with us. In some other tournaments, unfortunately, it was not with us. A lot of that was that happiness and relief coming out," he concluded.
Prior to his stint as the India coach, Rahul Dravid had also won the ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup 2018 as the head coach of India U19s.
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