Former India captain Rahul Dravid was appointed the head coach of the Indian cricket team in November 2021.

Rahul Dravid took over the coaching reins from Ravi Shastri, who stepped down from the post following the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Dravid bagged the high-profile job after achieving success with the Indian U-19 and India A teams. Under his mentorship, India finished runners-up in the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup, and later clinched the 2018 U-19 Cricket World Cup.

He is also credited for grooming rising Indian stars including Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, and Washington Sundar.

Prior to his appointment as head coach of the India Under-19 and India A teams, he also served as mentor for two Indian T20 League franchises - Rajasthan and Delhi. 

After coaching the junior teams for four years, Dravid was named the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in July 2019.

As head of NCA, he was applauded for improving players' fitness and revamping rehabilitation programs.

Since his appointment to the senior men’s national team, Dravid has coached India in more than 10 T20I series, nine ODI assignments, and five Test series. Here we take a detailed look at Rahul Dravid coaching record.

Rahul Dravid coaching record

Rahul Dravid started his tenure as Team India head coach in an emphatic fashion as the Men in Blue thrashed New Zealand 3-0 in a three-match T20I series.

India later registered a 1-0 series win over the Kiwis in the two-match Test series.

However, Rahul Dravid’s men suffered their first setback away from home in South Africa. After winning the first Test, India succumbed to defeats in the next two matches to go down 1-2 in the three-match series.

Later in the limited-overs format, India lost all the three matches against hosts South Africa in the ODI series.

Following the disappointing series, India quickly bounced back to whitewash the West Indies at home. The hosts won both the ODI and T20I series 3-0.

The Men in Blue continued their dominance at home as they thrashed Sri Lanka 3-0 in a three-match T20I series.

Led by captain Rohit Sharma, India also beat Sri Lanka 2-0 in the two-match Test series.

After the Sri Lanka series, Team India hosted South Africa in a five-match T20I series that ended 2-2.

India later travelled to Ireland for a short T20I series and the Men in Blue secured a comprehensive 2-0 series win over the hosts.

Leading 2-1 in the five-match Test series, India locked horns with England in the rescheduled final Test at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground. With a chance of a series win, India conceded a record run chase as the series ended in a 2-2 draw.

Under the tutelage of Dravid, India bounced back to clinch both the T20I and ODI series 2-1 against England.

Dravid’s men later played a limited-overs series in the Caribbean. The Shikhar Dhawan-led India bagged the three-match ODI series 3-0, while Hardik Pandya’s men clinched the five-match T20I series 4-1.

Following their hectic schedule, head coach Dravid was given a break for the ODI series in Zimbabwe ahead of the Asia Cup 2022. 

Rahul Dravid India coaching record
Date Opposition/Tournament T20Is ODIs Tests
November-December 2021 New Zealand India won 3-0   India won 1-0
December 2021 - January 2022 South Africa   India lost 3-0 India lost 2-1
February 2022 West Indies India won 3-0 India won 3-0  
February-March 2022 Sri Lanka India won 3-0   India won 2-0
June 2022 South Africa India 2-2 South Africa    
June 2022 Ireland India won 2-0    
July 2022 England India won 2-1 India won 2-1 India lost rescheduled fifth Test
July-August 2022 West Indies India won 4-1 India won 3-0  
August-September 2022 Asia Cup India's exit from Super 4 stage    
September 2022 Australia India won 2-1    
September-October 2022 South Africa India won 2-1 India won 2-1  
October-November 2022 ICC T20 World Cup India lost in semi-finals    
December 2022 Bangladesh   India lost 2-1 India won 2-0
January 2023 Sri Lanka India won 2-1 India won 3-0  
January-February 2023 New Zealand India won 2-1 India won 3-0  
February-March 2023 Australia   India lost 2-1 India won 2-1
June 2023 Australia     India lost WTC 2023 final

In the absence of Dravid, NCA chief VVS Laxman took over the role. India won the three-match ODI series 3-0.

During his ongoing coaching tenure, one of Rahul’s biggest assignments was the Asia Cup.

Rohit Sharma-led India topped Group A, winning both their matches against Pakistan and Hong Kong. 

However, in a massive disappointment, favourites India were later eliminated in the Super Four stage after finishing third in the standings with one win and two defeats.

After the Asia Cup 2022, India hosted Australia in a three-match T20I series. The hosts won the series 2-1.

India continued their brilliant run in the bilateral series as they defeated South Africa 2-1 in both the T20I and ODI series at home.

In October 2022, India travelled to Australia for the marquee ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Having started the tournament as one of the favourites, Dravid’s men played some impressive cricket as they stormed into the semi-finals. However, the Men in Blue lost to England by 10 wickets to get knocked out of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

Dravid was once again rested for India’s tour of New Zealand post the team’s exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. He was back in charge for the away series against Bangladesh. 

While India struggled in the multi-nation tournaments, they reigned supreme in the upcoming bilateral tournaments.

The visitors beat Bangladesh 2-1 in the three-match ODI series, and followed it up by clinching the two-match Test series 2-0 in Bangladesh.

After the completion of the Bangladesh series, India hosted Sri Lanka in a limited-over series. The Men in Blue won the three-match T20I series 2-1, and later thrashed the visitors 3-0 in the three-match ODI series.

India continued their outstanding run as they whitewashed New Zealand 3-0 in the ODI series, and also won the T20I series 2-1 against the Kiwis at home.

Under the mentorship of Dravid, India hosted Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for a place in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final.

Rohit Sharma-led India showcased their class as they beat the mighty Australians 2-1 in the four-match Test series to book their place in the WTC 2023 final.

Later in the ODI series, India suffered a setback as Steve Smith-led Australia clinched the three-match series 2-1.

After a gap of two months, India once again faced the Australians in the marquee World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final at the Kennington Oval in London. 

Following similar trends of heartbreaks in ICC tournaments under Dravid, India finished runners-up in the WTC 2023 final after losing to Australia by 209 runs.

It is safe to say that Rahul Dravid coaching record indicates that India has excelled in the various bilateral series, while failing to bag a silverware in the multi-nation tournaments.

Photo credit: Alamy

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