Rahul Dravid The Wall Appointed Head Of Operations, NCA

Man, Batsman, Wall, Mr. Dependable, and now, Head of Operations for NCA!

He was called “The Wall” for his defensive batting style and importantly, that beautiful watertight technique that saved India from disasters on many an occasion in both Test and limited overs cricket.

Then upon his retirement, as he shifted his focus to mentoring the next generation of cricketers, he became fondly known as Mr. Dependable. This happens to be a nickname that most of us already identified him with; in this case, switching back to a sobriquet that’s stuck since then.

For a man ever used to and fond of stepping in to play a greater, more responsible role, full of meaning for those around him, how unusual is it to know that Rahul Dravid has a new responsibility against his name?

In fact, truth be told, it doesn’t even come as a huge surprise that Rahul Dravid is at an important leadership role, yet again in his coaching career, a stint that came to life post the completion of his IPL career in 2013.

India’s former famous number 3 batsman, someone with over 13,000 Test runs in a stellar career, has been appointed as the head of operations at the revered National Cricket Academy.

The National Cricket Academy or the NCA for short, is, of course, the chief induction zone, if it must be said that way, for the next generation of talent for Indian cricket, now an elite and supremely successful unit in international cricket.

And that said, it only makes sense that someone of Rahul Dravid’s distinguished stature and standing has been assigned an important role at a premier cricketing establishment in India. In fact, to that end, it must be shared that Rahul Dravid was to have assumed his role and taken over the responsibilities from July 1 onward but his appointment was deferred by a few days.

Now as the news is confirmed and brimming with some excitement for it’s Dravid at the helm of affairs of an important organisation, it may be worthwhile to understand what the Bangalore-based cricketer’s job entails:

“Mr Dravid will oversee all cricket related activities at NCA and will be involved in mentoring, coaching, training and motivating players, coaches and support staff at the NCA,” BCCI said in a release.

“Dravid will also work closely with the National men’s and women’s Head coaches and coaches for India Developmental teams including India A, India Under 19, India Under 23 teams, in the identification of key training and development objectives,” the press release centered on Dravid’s appointment added.