Kohli-Shastri combine could do well with Dravid inputs

Feb.11 (CRICKETNMORE) - Rahul Dravid is the man Indian cricket is looking at today. Never has a coach of the junior India team received so much attention as he is getting after India won the Under-19 World Cup in New

Dravid is not easily forthcoming, yet he doesn't avoid any question. Of all India captains in the last couple of decades, he is one who took pains to answer every question without getting irritated or putting the questioner down. 

He would be the first one to accept the team's faults and also his own. He gave up captaincy and did what he knew best, batting for the remainder of his career.

He is clear in his mind what the young cricketers require, himself having come through the rungs, and he did everything for his wards to blossom into good cricketers. His Under-19 World Cup team returned unbeaten and that also shows how disciplined the boys were, not taking any team or the victory for granted. He prepared the talented team and all he needed to do was to deal with the pressure of expectations with each passing game.

At the end of it all, Dravid also told the youngsters that their junior days are over and that they should be thrown into the deep end of the water. They have the talent to come through, though it is not easy to force their way into the India side. The next best thing, he told them, is to be in the reckoning as good first-class cricketers.

It is up to the young men to decide, whether they want to be successful India cricketers or happy to be the Indian Premier League (IPL) stalwarts.

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Veturi Srivatsa