Rahul Dravid was third time lucky as the outgoing head coach of Rohit Sharma's Team India finally lifted the T20 World Cup trophy on Saturday. Dravid-coached Team India upstaged South Africa in the final of the ICC World T20 2024 final by seven runs at the Kensington Oval. Batting legend Dravid captained India in the 2007 edition of the 50-over World Cup. The former India skipper was a part of the Indian side that made it to the final of the 2003 World Cup. Just like MS Dhoni, Dravid is also known for his calm demeanour. However, Dravid burst into wild celebrations as India claimed its first ICC title after 2013.

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Speaking to the press after the celebrations, Dravid said: “This was a journey of 2 years, this T20 World Cup. The construction of this team and the kind of skills we wanted, the players we wanted. The discussions started when I started in 2021…this is not the work of just this World Cup…It feels like a journey of 2 years…”“As a player, I was not lucky enough to win a trophy but I gave my best…I was lucky enough to be given an opportunity to coach a team, I was lucky that this bunch of boys made it possible for me to be able to win this trophy. It is a great feeling, it is not like I was aiming for some redemption, it was the job I was doing…it has been a great journey…,” he added. Under Dravid’s mentorship, India played three consecutive ICC finals including the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup last year. India failed to outdo Australia on both occasions and had to wait for the coveted silverware until Barbados. Dravid feels India will continue to dominate cricket and predicts more trophies in the coming years.

Signing off as India's head coach in the Caribbean, Dravid won his first ICC trophy as the manager of the Asian giants. Under his watch, India contested three ICC finals. Before winning its second T20 World Cup crown, Dravid's India were outclassed by Australia in the 50-over World Cup final. With Dravid as the head coach, India also lost the ICC World Test Championship final to Australia. Replacing Ravi Shastri as the head coach, Dravid guided India to a record-extending Asia Cup win in the build-up to last year's World Cup.