In a historic moment, Rohit Sharma led India to the T20 World Cup 2024 title with a thrilling victory over South Africa in Barbados on Saturday. In post match press-conference Rohit Sharma paid a heartfelt tribute to outgoing coach Rahul Dravid after Men in Blue defeated South Africa to end their 11-year wait for an ICC title. Rohit said that coach Dravid deserved the T20 World Cup trophy more than any of the players for what he has done for Indian cricket for the past 20–25 years.
"Rahul Dravid, more than anyone of us, deserved the World Cup trophy. What he has done for Indian cricket for the past 20-25 years... I think this was the only thing that was left in his cabinet. Very happy from all of us, on behalf of the entire team, that we could do this for him. You saw how proud he was and how excited he was," Rohit said during the post-match press conference.
Under Dravid's guidance, Team India made significant strides, reaching the finals of both the 2023 World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup, though they lost to Australia on both occasions. The 2024 T20 World Cup victory broke India's 11-year ICC title drought. The T20 World Cup 2024 final also marked the end of Rahul Dravid's tenure as head coach of the Indian cricket team. Dravid, who took over from Ravi Shastri in 2021, guided the team to the semi-finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup, the final of the 2023 Test World Cup, the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup and finally to Saturday's 20-over World Cup trophy.
After Indian players got the coveted ICC trophy, Kohli waited and handed it to the coach. Dravid showed a rare side of him as he lifted it with both hands and screamed at the top of his voice. He pumped the already excited team India as they joined Dravid in celebrations. Later, Kohli and Rohit lifted Dravid along with other players to give a farewell like the one given to legendary Sachin Tendulkar.