‘Both have their own qualities’: Dhawan on Shastri and Dravid’s coaching styles

India’s limited-overs captain Shikhar Dhawan spoke to the media on the eve of India’s 1st ODI against Sri Lanka. Dhawan, who will be leading Team India for the first time, opened up on the coaching styles of Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid. Dravid is with the Indian contingent for the ODI and T20I series in Lanka, while Shastri is currently gearing up with Virat Kohli and co for the five-match Test series against England.

Speaking on the differences, Dhawan said that while Dravid is calm and composed, Shastri is a bit on the aggressive side. While accepting that he has enjoyed playing under both, he mentioned that both have their own set of skills to motivate the players.

I enjoy playing under both of them: Shikhar Dhawan

“They (Dravid and Shastri) both have their own qualities and they both are very positive people. I have spent time with Ravi Bhai (Ravi Shastri) and their ways to motivate are different,” Dhawan was quoted as saying during a press conference on Saturday.

“Ravi Bhai’s energy is a bit strong, whereas Rahul Bhai (Rahul Dravid) is very calm, composed, and strong as well, so everyone has their own way and I enjoy playing under both of them,” he stated.

Earlier, Dhawan had said that he shares a cordial relationship with Dravid. The southpaw went down memory lane and recalled the time when he played in the Ranji Trophy alongside ‘The Wall’ of Indian cricket.

“I have a good relation with Rahul Bhai. When I started playing Ranji Trophy, I played against him, and I have known him since then. When I went to play India A match, I was the Captain, and he was the coach, so there was interaction. When he became the Director of NCA, we used to go there for around 20 days, so we had a lot of interaction,” Dhawan had said.

Dravid has garnered loads of laurels in his coaching stint with Team India. In 2018, India, led by Prithvi Shaw, won the U19 World Cup in New Zealand under Dravid’s tutelage.

The upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka is set to start on Sunday, July 18 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The three 50-over matches will be followed by as many T20I games at the same venue.