Departing India’s head coach Rahul Dravid gave his gratitude to all the players after India clinched the T20 World Cup title by beating South Africa by seven runs at Barbados on Saturday. Dravid also thanked Rohit Sharma for convincing him to stay as the chief coach after India’s heartbreaking ODI World Cup final loss against Australia.

Under Dravid’s tutelage, India reached the semifinal of the 2022 T20 World Cup, the final of the World Test Championship, and the final of the ODI World Cup. But he didn’t have a major silverware to show for despite consistent performances from his team. The Men in Blue were finally able to get over the line as they came up with a collective show against the Proteas.

Dravid said in a video posted by BCCI, “Ro, thank you so much for making that call in November and asking me to continue. I know as a captain and coach there’s a lot of time we have to discuss, we have to agree, we have to disagree. But thank you so much. It has been a pleasure to know each and every one of you.”

Dravid is known to keep his calm and he was able to get the best out of his players during his tenure. The former Indian skipper said he is proud of the group for bringing their best when it mattered the most and bouncing back when they were under the cosh.

“I couldn’t be prouder of you guys. To come back the way you did, the way you fought, the resilience, the way we worked as a team, what this bunch of boys has done, what all of you have done, the hard work we have put in, the sacrifices we have made, I think the whole country will be proud of you,” Dravid said in the same video.

Gautam Gambhir is expected to take over the coaching baton from Rahul Dravid.