'He has no ego': Shoaib Malik recalls conversation with Rahul Dravid

In his post-playing career, former India captain Rahul Dravid has made a swift transition towards coaching. He started as the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy and then transitioned to coaching various Indian cricket teams, starting with the under-19 team, moving on to India ‘A’ and ultimately taking charge of the senior Indian national team. World Cup 2023: News | Schedule | Results | Points table Shoaib Malik, the former captain of Pakistan, was all praise for Rahul Dravid’s approach and even shared a personal story that exemplified his work ethic, and how his approach and thinking has had an impact on Indian cricket. Under Dravid’s guidance as head coach, the Indian cricket team is currently enjoying an impressive unbeaten streak in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup. India are currently top of the points table with 12 points, having won six out of six games.

Speaking during a discussion on the Pakistani sports channel A Sports, Shoaib Malik recalled the selfless nature of Dravid’s coaching style and said that he had learnt the art of handling players as he steadily climbed the coaching ladder. “We were travelling from Pakistan to New Zealand. At the same time (on the same flight), the Indian under-19 team was travelling,” Malik said even as other panelists that included Wasim Akram, Moin Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq, listened to the story. “Rahul Dravid was the under-19 coach then. I was sleeping, and he waited for two hours for me to wake up because he wanted to speak to me. He wanted to ask me ‘you have made so many comebacks, what motivates you?’, Dravid said, ‘I am coaching the under-19 team, so I want to tell them what’s the psyche behind this’,” Malik further added. Malik said that Dravid, with this gesture, conveyed his lack of ego and the desire to gain insight into the challenges of making a comeback. As per Malik, Dravid himself had seen numerous ups and downs in his career, but he still wanted to speak to a player and wanted to learn. “So what I am trying to say through this is that he has no ego. He wanted to learn what you go through (while trying to make a comeback). In his own career he has seen lots of ups and downs. So he asked me and I told him. I liked that a lot. The learning process never ends and look where the Indian team is standing today (under Rahul Dravid),” added Shoaib.