'Ro, Thanks For That Call': Emotional Rahul Dravid Acknowledges Rohit Sharma Stopped Him From Quitting After November 19

Good things come to those who wait, they say. Well, in the case of India, it took 13 years, and for Rahul Dravid, 28 years since his debut for India, to finally lay claim to a World Cup trophy.

Dravid, who had announced that he will depart from the role of head coach of India after a 5-year tenure, finally reaped the benefits of his years of hard work both as a player and as a coach as he got to add a World Cup trophy to his trophy cabin finally.

After their nail-biting win against South Africa on Saturday, Dravid took to the locker room to deliver a heartfelt speech on his thoughts and gratitude towards the players and staff for their achievement.

I’m really short of words, but all I just want to say is… Thank you to everyone… for making me a part of what is an incredible memory. I think all of you will remember these moments… You’ll never remember your career. But you’ll remember moments like this. So, let’s really enjoy it. I could not be more proud of you guys,” stated an emotional Dravid.

India’s win was the ultimate reward after a five-year trial by fire for Dravid as coach, in which period India made it to two ICC World Cup finals, but could not seal the deal, with the most heartbreaking defeat coming in 2023, when the hosts India fell to rivals Australia at the 2023 ODI World Cup final.

After the crushing loss, Dravid had considered giving up on his role as head coach, and was not willing to sign an new contract extension. That was until Rohit Sharma came into the picture.

Dravid stated that it was the one call from the Indian skipper on 19 November, 2023 which gave him the confidence and strength to take on the role and continue to fight for World Cup glory.

“I would just like to say, Ro (Rohit Sharma), thank you very much for making that call to me in November and asking me to continue. I think it’s been such a privilege and a pleasure to work with each and every one of you, and every one of you, but also to Ro, thanks for the time,” Dravid stated as the head coach thanked Rohit.

“I know as a captain and a coach, there’s a lot of times we have to chat, we have to discuss, we have to agree, we have to disagree at times. But thank you so very much. I think, you know, it’s been brilliant to get to know each and every one of you as a person. And yeah, I think it’s your moment, guys. It’s your moment. Remember it. It’s not about any individual. It’s about a team. We won this as a team.”

All’s well that ends well. Well, it sure ended well for India, who finally wrapped their hands around a World Cup trophy after 13 years.