India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday said that Rahul Dravid has immense knowledge and his experience will come in handy once he takes over as the head coach of the senior cricket team. Dravid was appointed head coach of the senior side on Wednesday and he will take over the reins from Ravi Shastri after the ongoing T20 World Cup. “I think Rahul bhaihas got an immense depth of knowledge and he has got good wishing for anything he does in life. He is somebody who has done the hard yards, Rahul bhai has gone through the grind of being at the NCA, being the coach of A-team and he knows what is in store,” said Ashwin during a virtual press conference.

“He has played with some of us in the dressing room, he also knows all the young boys. I am really looking forward to it and contributing alongside Rahul bhai,” he added.

Earlier, Dravid said that he is honoured to be appointed as the new head coach. The Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Sulakshana Naik and RP Singh on Wednesday unanimously appointed Rahul Dravid as the head coach of Team India (Senior Men).

Dravid will take charge from the upcoming home series against New Zealand. “It is an absolute honour to be appointed as the new head coach of the Indian cricket team and I am really looking forward to this role. Under Shastri, the team has done very well, and I hope to work with the team to take this forward,” said Dravid in a statement released by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

“Having worked closely with most of the boys either at NCA, U19, and India A setup, I know they have the passion and desire to improve every day. There are some marquee multi-team events in the next two years, and I look forward to working with the players and the support staff to achieve our potential,” he added.

Promoted

The BCCI had invited applications for the said position on October 26 to appoint Ravi Shastri’s successor, whose term gets over after the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup.

India became the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia (2018-19) and followed it with another series win in 2020-21. India was also the first team to win all five T20Is in a bilateral series when it blanked New Zealand 5-0. Under Shastri and his team’s guidance, India won all their seven Test series at home.