“We have fantastic talent in Indian cricket right now,” Dravid said after the final. “The energy and confidence the players have is at another level. We were aiming for an ICC trophy for a long time and I am sure the team will carry this confidence forward and will win a lot of trophies in the next four, five, six years because the ability and talent this bunch has… they lack nothing.
Rahul Dravid gets a champion’s farewell•Getty Images
“As part of the coaching staff, I feel really grateful because we’re getting to enjoy these moments because of what they have done in a pressure situation. This is lovely to be a part of a dressing room like this and I think it’s a memory of a lifetime for me. So I’m really thankful and grateful to the team and everyone in the support staff who has made this possible.”
As a player, Dravid never won a World Cup. Under his captaincy, India were knocked out of the 2007 ODI World Cup in the first round. That tournament was also held in the West Indies but Dravid is not seeing the latest victory as a redemption.
“There is no redemption. I’m not one of those guys who think about redemption and those kind of things. As a player, I was not lucky enough to win a trophy. But I tried my best, I gave my best whenever I played and it wasn’t to be, and that happens, it’s part of sport. There are a lot of other players I know who have not been able to win a trophy. I was lucky to be given the opportunity to coach a team and I was lucky that this bunch of boys made it possible for me to win this trophy.
“I just feel glad that we gave it the best we could and it’s not just me,” he said. “I think I’d like to really acknowledge the support staff that I’ve worked with. I think I’ve been lucky to have been working with exceptionally hard-working professionals, an intelligent bunch of coaches, and other support staff who have made it possible for us to create a fantastic environment, led by Rohit. I am glad that with a bit of luck, it resulted in this trophy.”
When asked what he would miss the most about Rohit, Dravid replied, “I will miss him as a person. Forget the cricket and captaincy and everything, but what really has impressed me is the kind of person he is, the kind of respect he has shown towards me, the kind of care and commitment he has had for the team, the kind of energy he has had to spend, and he’s never backed down from it.
“So for me, it’s the person that I will remember the most. He’ll be a great captain, he’ll be a great player and he will score runs and win trophies, but I think it’s who he is as a person that I will be most fond of.”
“A lot of cricketers are coming through the IPL but it is going to take some time to bridge the gap,” Binny said after the final. “They have contributed so much. It’s going to take time. We will probably see in the next two-three years, the team coming back into its own without them.”
“Nothing concrete has come yet. Gautam Gambhir has a lot of experience. He has worked with teams. He played Test matches, ODIs, T20s. Let’s see.”