Vadiraj Kanakagiri

In what came like a surprise to all, after opting to stay away from it previously, Rahul Dravid has agreed to coach the men's national team for a two year period and the fans couldn't control their happiness on social media.

After hanging up his boots in 2012, Rahul Dravid has always stayed away from the senior men's dressing room. He tried his hand as a commentator for a while, but then left it soon as it didn't give him the thrill of being inside a dressing room. But he also didn't want to spend too much of his time away, as he wanted to spend time with his family as much as he could.

In this dilemma, Dravid chose the next best thing. He decided to coach the under-19s. This way, he got to be inside of a dressing room again, this time, sharing his knowledge and experience to the next gen of players, making Indian cricket strong from the root level. And also, since the under-19 series only took place leading up to the u-19 world, he didn't have to be away from home for too long. Rahul Dravid got the best of both worlds.

Next up was the head post of the NCA which is located in Bangalore. As it was in his hometown, Rahul decided to take over the leadership of the NCA during the rest of the year, when he wasn't traveling with the u-19 boys.

But once he tasted success as a coach by winning the u-19 world cup with Prithvi Shaw and that lot, the call for Dravid to be the coach of the men's team became louder. Even though Shastri was doing very well as coach, fans and pundits wanted Rahul to be the Guru to these superstars. But Rahul had denied it previously citing time management issues.

It has been revealed from the inside sources of the BCCI that Dravid has been given a two-year contract. Dravid will take home a salary of Rs 10 crore. “He was re-appointed as the NCA head last month. But the BCCI needed a strong candidate to take Indian cricket forward. He has worked so hard to develop the next line of Indian cricketers", said an unnamed official.

But now the time is ripe. The next 50 over world cup is in two years and it is in India. In between there's a T20 world cup to be played in Australia. Missing out many times as a player, can Dravid place his hands on this elusive trophy in 2023 ? Only time will tell. But as fans, we certainly feel that if there's anyone more deserving to lift that trophy, then it is Mr. Dependable, Rahul Dravid.