Indian cricket’s two-team experiment is approaching its commencement as the Shikhar Dhawan-led limited-overs unit recently departed for Sri Lanka to play white ball cricket. One of the most exciting aspects of this setup though remains the return of Rahul Dravid to the Indian national team’s fold.

“As a coach, it’s quite an exciting situation because you know if you create a good environment, everyone will learn a lot,” said the former Indian skipper, who has been appointed as the coach for this tour in the absence of Ravi Shastri. The latter is part of the Virat Kohli-led team’s support staff that has stayed back in England after the World Test Championship final in England, to play five Test matches against the hosts, from August.

“We have to be together as a large group, there are opportunities to learn and grow. It’s a good chance for me as well, as a coach you’re always learning from every experience. You learn about yourself and about cricket. It’s another opportunity for me to learn and improve. I’m quite excited,” Dravid added.

Soon, Team India’s ruthless fans were not ready to hold back their emotions anymore, especially after Team India’s disappointing performance in the WTC final against New Zealand, at The Ageas Bowl, Southampton. Some even called for Shastri’s head, scapegoating him for the result.

Despite Team India’s recent towering Test successes in Australia, they have failed to walk the last mile in ICC tournaments, under the current team management of Kohli and Shastri. They stumbled at the final hurdle of the 2017 Champions Trophy against Pakistan, and then consecutively against the Kiwis — in the 2019 World Cup semi-final and the 2021 WTC final.

“There are lot of people in the squad who are pushing for places or looking to cement their places in the T20 World Cup. But the key goal for everyone in the squad is to try and win the series. That’s the primary objective. Hopefully people can get the opportunity to put in good performances in the course of winning the series, and knock doors of selectors,” said Dravid, with one eye on the preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup later this year.

The tournament was slated to be hosted by India after its postponement in Australia last year. But given the pandemic situation in the country, rumours suggest that the BCCI might consider moving it to the UAE, where the IPL has been played multiple times in the recent past.

For the fans though, this is Kohli’s golden opportunity to end his trophy drought in ICC tournaments, especially given the team’s T20 riches, thanks to the IPL. Will Kohli be able to break the curse? Or will it finally take Rahul ‘The Wall’ Dravid’s Midas touch to bring back glory for Team India? Watch this space.

Image credits: Twitter/BCCI