Dravid officially announced as new India head coach

Rahul Dravid has been appointed the head coach of the Indian cricket team. He will take over from Ravi Shastri, whose tenure will come to an end after the ongoing Men's T20 World Cup 2021.

Dravid will take charge of the senior side from the home series against New Zealand, which starts with the T20Is on November 17. The series involves three T20Is and two Tests.

The appointment of the former India captain made by BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee, comprising Sulakshana Naik and RP Singh, was "unanimous" said a media release from BCCI. There was no mention of other applicants, if any.

"The BCCI welcomes Rahul Dravid as the Head Coach of India's senior men team. Rahul has had an illustrious playing career and is one of the greats of the game. He has also served Indian cricket as Head of National Cricket Academy (NCA) with distinction," BCCI president and Dravid's former teammate, Sourav Ganguly said.

"Rahul's effort at the NCA has nurtured several young cricketing talents who have gone on to represent the country at the international stage. I am hopeful that his new stint will take Indian cricket to new heights."

Dravid previously coached the India Under-19 side at the 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, where they finished runners-up and champions respectively. Dravid has also overseen the progress of the India A sides until 2019, when he was appointed the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. He was also the coach recently when a Shikhar Dhawan-led Indian team toured Sri Lanka earlier this year.

"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 Mr Shastri, the team has done very well, and I hope to work with the team to take this forward," Dravid said on the appointment.

"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 everyday. 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."

Dravid takes over from another former cricketer Ravi Shastri, in whose tenure India became the first Asian side to win a Test series in Australia (2018-19) and repeated the feat on the 2020-21 tour. They also did not lose a series at home en route to the top of the Test rankings, and the final of the inaugural World Test Championship final.

It remains to be seen who else joins Dravid in the Indian backroom staff, although Vikram Rathour, the incumbent batting coach confirmed that he has reapplied for the post.