India’s T20 World Cup win a ‘great testament to the fight in the team’ – Rahul Dravid

India’s head coach Rahul Dravid was delighted after the Men in Blue defeated South Africa by seven runs to win the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday. Dravid said this triumph is a great testament to the fight in the team.

With this much-needed victory, India ended their 11-year drought for a major ICC title. Dravid, who coached the Indian team for three years, said the next title will not take so long.

“We have fantastic talent in Indian cricket right now,” Dravid said after the final. “The energy and confidence the players have is at another level. We were aiming for an ICC trophy for a long time and I am sure the team will carry this confidence forward and will win a lot of trophies in the next four, five, six years because the ability and talent this bunch has… they lack nothing.

“There was a moment when we were feeling that we were working really hard and playing good cricket as well but we were not able to cross that hurdle. But after today I am very hopeful that these boys will take it forward and win a lot of trophies.”

Dravid took over the coaching baton from Ravi Shastri after the T20 World Cup 2021. Under his tutelage, India made it to the WTC Final and ODI World Cup final but lost to Australia on both occasions. They also qualified for the semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2022 but lost to England.

When asked about India’s preparation for the T20 World Cup, Dravid said, “Honestly, this is a journey of two years. This is not a journey from just this T20 World Cup. When I think about the construction of this team, the kind of skills we wanted, the players we wanted, those discussions started in September [November] 2021.

“So it’s two years of work. This is not a work of just this World Cup. I think it culminated in this World Cup. The disappointment in Australia [at the 2022 T20 World Cup] and then the one-day World Cup – there’s so much that has gone into it. This feels like a journey of not just one month, it feels like a journey of two years. What we’ve tried to build, what we have tried to create, it feels like it has all come together here on a beautiful afternoon in Barbados.”

Meanwhile, South Africa was in a winning position but India was able to snatch a win from the jaws of defeat. The Proteas needed 30 runs in the last five overs but Indian bowlers were able to turn it around.

“I’m not usually short of words but I have felt really short of words over the last few hours,” he said. “I just could not be more proud of this team. The way we’ve had to fight in difficult situations and even today, I think it was a great testament to the fight in the team. Losing three wickets in the first six [overs], to be in the kind of position we were in with 30 balls to go. But the boys just kept fighting, they kept believing, and I think it’s just a great credit to them.

Gautam Gambhir is likely to take over as India’s head coach.