Rahul Dravid on the phone call from Rohit Sharma that convinced him to continue as coach

“I think it has been an honor and a pleasure to work with all of you, but Ro, and I thank you for this time. There is a lot of time to talk, we have to discuss, we have to agree. , we have to disagree sometimes, but thank you very much.”

During his heyday as a coach, Dravid said he did not believe in “redemption stories”. That answered the question of whether it was enough to lift the World Cup on the same shores where India were knocked out of the ODI World Cup in the first round in 2007 with Dravid as the team’s captain.

“I’m not often at a loss for words but on a day like today, to be a part of this, I couldn’t be more grateful,” said Dravid. “With respect, for kindness, for the effort each of you have shown me, to my coaching staff, to my support staff.

“You will all remember these moments. We always say, it’s not about the runs, it’s not about the wickets, you don’t remember your career but you remember moments like this, so let’s enjoy it.”

As they celebrated together, Dravid had a small message for Kohli: “All three whites are out. Red to go. Tick.” It refers to India winning the ODI World Cup in 2011, the Champions Trophy in 2013 and now the T20 World Cup, all of which Kohli was a part of, as well as the Test tournament, which India has yet to win despite reaching the title. last on both occasions so far.

Last month, before the start of the T20 World Cup, Dravid had cited a busy calendar as the main reason for not reapplying for the job. “Unfortunately, it’s just kind of schedules [that are in place in international cricket] and when I find myself at this stage of my life, I don’t think I will be able to reapply,” he said when India arrived in New York.