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In the fast-changing world of cricket, the media often seeks opinions from personalities witnessing all events from the forefront, like Graeme Smith. Having said that, the ex-Protean skipper stood in favour of the India team’s current coach and captain in an interview held by the Times of India.
While the host requested Smith to share his thoughts on Dravid’s records as a mentor, he mentioned that it would be unfair to judge his performance so early.
Although Team India doesn't lack talents in any department, it will still be rational to give the new coach more time to rebuild his first team. This is especially true because India hasn't tasted success in any big ICC tournaments since their 10-year-back 2013 Champions Trophy victory at Birmingham.
Even after the passing of several weeks, the woes of the WTC final have been haunting many Indian cricket fans. Therefore, the topic came up time and again, this time making the South African former cricketer speak about it publicly.
You can find glimpses of Graeme Smith’s video on the internet that have been captured during the interview. He stressed several factors that probably make Rahul Dravid's role as the head coach of the Indian national team a lot more challenging.
While concluding, he appealed to the BCCI to allow Dravid to continue in his leadership position for some time more. In Dravid's support, Graeme Smith addressed numerous difficulties that any coach would feel if being asked to take over a similar duty at this point.
According to him, the Indian talent pool is vast. At least 2-3 different Indian squad combinations now have the potential to beat top sides from around the world. In such a progressive stage, it is indeed arduous to pick the ideal playing XI’s each time.
On top of that, every time, Dravid needs top-notch calibre to coordinate with Rohit and achieve the much-needed side depth. All the deciding parameters keep on changing from one tour to another as each player goes through a busy schedule. Additionally, many of them are particularly good in a specific format.
In Graeme Smith’s IPL brief career, he played against Rahul Dravid, who later came to join the same franchise. From those few moments, and even before that while encountering India, he has identified ‘the Wall’ as a quality performer and an exceptional character. Hence, he strongly backs Rahul, hoping his team will perform reasonably well when they next face the Caribbeans away from home.
Graeme Smith’s records as a captain truly convey how he could soak pressure and manage his team on the pitch. As he handled the leadership challenges in 109 test games, few are more capable of commenting mindfully on Dravid's slump in form as a coach.
Graeme Smith understands well that all sportspersons must go through rough patches at the biggest stage. Thus, he urged the BCCI to continue trusting Rahul and show faith in other promising cricketers like Shubman Gill, Chesteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma.
FAQs
What is Graeme Smith famous for?
Graeme Smith has led the South African test team to a record victory in 53 games out of 109. Even he scored 27 magnificent 100s throughout his entire test career.
What was Graeme Smith’s age when he married?
Graeme Smith married his girlfriend, Romy Lanfranchi, when he was 38 years old. The fans can watch their wedding pictures on the cricketer’s Twitter account.
What is Graeme Smith’s highest score?
Graeme Smith’s all-time highest score in test cricket is 277. On the other hand, he scored 141 in a crucial Champions Trophy game against England in September 2009, registering his best ODI score.
