Rahul Dravid never forced me to change my style of game: Prithvi Shaw.
Young Indian opener Prithvi Shaw opens up about the techniques and coaching style of his U19 head coach Rahul Dravid. Shaw said that Dravid never asked him to change his batting style and was always supportive even though his style was way different.
Rahul Dravid is currently the chief of National Cricket Academy (NCA) Bangalore. He had coached the U19 team back in 2018 and won the ICC U19 World Cup under the captaincy of young Prithvi Shaw.
“It was exceptional that we toured for about two years (before the 2018 U19 World Cup) with Rahul Sir. He knew that he was different from us but never forced us to be like him. Temperament is important but he never asked me to change anything, he used to tell me to play my natural game because he knew that if I play the powerplay overs, it becomes difficult to dismiss me,” Prithvi Shaw said to Cricbuzz.
Shaw further said that Rahul Dravid wanted us to be disciplined but at the same time he was too friendly to talk to.
“When there was Rahul Sir, you have to be disciplined. There was a bit of fear of him as well but off the field he was friendly.”
“He used to come with us for dinners and sitting with another legend and having dinner with him was a dream come true. Every youngster would love to have dinner with a legend who has played 15-16 years of international cricket. It was a really good experience talking to him,” added the DC opener.
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Dravid was clear what he wanted and what he is going to get from each and every player.
“I am sure he also went through that phase, the under-19s and Ranji Trophy. He knew exactly what to get from us during tours,” added Prithvi Shaw who had a scintillating run in the IPL 2021.
“He used to talk to every guy specifically about what he wants him to do, which was really interesting. For me, he just used to say, play your natural game but if the situation demands, you need to be there for the team. If the situation is asking you to do something different from your game, you have to do it for the team. I really found Rahul sir interesting in that way, great human being as well,” he said.
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