‘These boys have inspired the younger generation’: Rahul Dravid hails ‘fighting spirit’ of Rohit-led Indian team

New Delhi (India), July 5: Rahul Dravid, who was the head coach of the Indian team during its ICC T20 World Cup victory, recalled the last time Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the team in Ahmedabad when the moment “was not so good” and applauded the victorious members, saying these players “will inspire the younger generation”.

The last time the Indian team shared the hall with Prime Minister Modi, it was the Ahmedabad dressing room filled with an atmosphere of gloom, sorrow and despair, but on Thursday, as the same team met the Prime Minister at his residence, it was a surreal display of pride and joy.

The first encounter took place in the Indian team dressing room on November 19, when the men in blue, after 10 crushing victories, failed to clear the final hurdle against Australia in the ODI World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The defeat left the entire nation heartbroken.

During these heartbreaking moments, Prime Minister Modi came to comfort the nation’s most loved and cherished group of boys. He addressed each player one by one, shook their hands and hugged them, comforted them with his words and asked them to keep their spirits up.

Dravid expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Modi for the opportunity to meet them in their final match of the 2023 ODI World Cup against Australia in Ahmedabad, which they lost by 6 wickets, and said they were happy to interact again on this auspicious occasion.

“I would like to thank you for giving us this opportunity to meet you and during our match in Ahmedabad, you had come there too, I agree, the timing was not so good, so we are very happy that we could meet you today on this auspicious occasion,” Dravid said during an interaction with Prime Minister Modi at the Prime Minister’s residence in Delhi.

Dravid, who had earlier said that India captain Rohit Sharma convinced him in a phone call to continue as head coach till the T20 World Cup, said the players’ “fighting spirit” and “never say die attitude” would inspire the younger generation.

“I would just like to say that the fighting spirit that Rohit and all these boys have shown, the never give up attitude that they have shown, means a lot, the credit goes to the boys, they have worked very hard for this. It is a great joy that these boys have inspired the younger generation…” Dravid added.

In the last over of the final over, David Miller, known for his decisive and game-changing performances for the Proteas, attempted a big shot when 16 runs were needed off six balls. However, the ball found Suryakumar Yadav near the boundary, who took a remarkable catch, first catching the ball and putting it in the air, crossing the boundary and quickly coming back inside to complete the catch. The catch was crucial in turning the game in India’s favour and the South African batsman was bowled out for 21 runs. The Men in Blue won their second ICC T20 World Cup title with a seven-run win.

India’s star batsman Suryakumar has spoken about his match-winning catch from South Africa’s explosive batsman David Miller in the T20 World Cup final against the Proteas, saying he initially thought he was saving a boundary.

“At that time, I was not thinking whether I would be able to catch the ball or not and once the ball came to my hand, I had to pick it up and pass it to the other side… We practiced this thing a lot,” Suryakumar Yadav said during his interaction with Prime Minister Modi.

On Thursday, after the Indian team left the national capital and arrived in Mumbai, the Rohit Sharma-led team kicked off the parade in an open-top bus from Marine Drive. Fans turned out in large numbers, dancing to India’s success and celebrating the arrival of the T20 World Cup champion team.

Throughout the parade, players were seen lifting the coveted trophy high in the air and appreciating the support shown by the fans throughout the tournament.

The fans’ love for their team was clearly visible as some of them climbed the tree and cheered the team on as the bus drove past them.

After the victory parade ended and the team reached the Wankhede Stadium, the Indian cricketers danced to the tune of ‘dhol’ along with the cheering fans.

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