‘Expectations are huge’: Dravid hails Surya and Gambhir as India win T20 World Cup

Former India captain and head coach Rahul Dravid India’s immense cricketing potential has finally translated into sustained success, with a string of wins in global tournaments reflecting the immense talent that has long characterized Indian cricket, said Sunday. India has performed well in ICC events, winning the last two men’s T20 World Cups, women’s ODI World Cup, men’s U-19 World Cup and women’s U-19 T20 World Cup in the past two years.

Dravid, who was awarded the Colonel CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award at the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s annual awards ceremony, spoke about the team’s success in an interaction with Star Sports. “That’s how it feels, right? “At this moment when almost everything comes together, there has always been huge potential in Indian cricket and that potential has been realized on the field. Off the field I think we have always had everything we need and on the field it is great to see that potential being realized.” Dravid said the continued success is the result of a coordinated effort of multiple factors, from players and management to coaches and fans. “It’s amazing. It’s amazing to see the way Indian cricket has developed in these three decades,” he said while looking back on the journey since his international debut in 1996. “Indian cricket has always had amazing talent. We’ve always had very good administrators. We’ve always had very good coaches and we’ve been able to back that up with incredible infrastructure. We’ve always had a great domestic system, (a) very good junior cricket system.” “Some of the most incredible fans in the world. The kind of supporters and fans that we have, it deserves all of that to come together and be successful on the field. It’s amazing to see how all of that has come together now.” Dravid, who led India to the 2024 T20 World Cup title, also praised the current squad for being able to withstand expectations and deliver on the big stage. “It’s great to see… how the World T20 team performs, the expectations are huge. They started off as favorites but it’s not always easy,” Dravid said. “Yes, of course, they are a very good team but it’s not always easy to start as favorites and end up lifting the trophy. It has its own pressures, its own challenges. It’s great to see Surya (Suryakumar Yadav) and Gautam (Gambhir) and the team really did that,” he said.