Vinod Rai Reveals Why Rahul Dravid Turned Down India Coach’s Job

Vinod Rai reveals why Rahul Dravid turned down Team India coach’s job.

(Photo: IANS)

Rahul Dravid’s second career as a cricket coach has seen him draw appreciation and respect from his wards and their opponents but former CoA chief Vinod Rai has now revealed why Dravid passed over the biggest coaching job in Indian cricket, that of the national team.

Following the breakdown in relations between skipper Virat Kohli and the then coach Anil Kumble in 2017, Vinod Rai revealed that the BCCI had approached Dravid for the job but he turned down the offer due to personal reasons.

"Rahul was very upfront with us," Rai told Sportskeeda. "He said 'look I have two boys growing up at home and I have been travelling with the Indian team all over the world and I am not able to give time and attention to them, I think I must stay at home also. And give time to my family'.

"I think that was a very fair request and though he would have been uppermost in mind. So, he was very much in the zone of consideration," Rai added.

The former India captain continued on in his role as the coach of the India Under-19 and India A teams and took over as the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru in July, 2019.