BCCI president Sourav Ganguly recalled a hilarious telephonic conversation with Rahul Dravid’s son before his former India teammate’s appointment as the head coach of Team India, jokingly acknowledging that it was the reason behind Dravid’s appointment.

During a chat at the 40th Sharjah International Book Fair, Sourav Ganguly said, “I got a call from him saying his father was being too strict with him and that he needed to be taken away. That’s when I called Rahul (Dravid) and told him that it was time for him to join the national team.”

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Ravi Shastri’s tenure as India’s head coach ended after their journey at the T20 World Cup came to an end last week. Dravid was named as the new head coach a week before that, for a two-year contract, which will begin with the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand at home.

Talking about the same, Sourv Ganguly said, “We grew up together, started around the same time, and spent most of the time playing together. So, it was easy for some of us to make him feel welcome and wanted.”

Paras Mhambrey, with whom Dravid has worked closely at the NCA, is the front-runner to replace Bharat Arun to become India’s bowling coach, while Abhay Sharma and former wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra have put their names for the position of fielding coach.

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After his appointment, as per the quotes from BCCI, Rahul Dravid said, “It is an absolute honor to be appointed as the new Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team and I am really looking forward to this role. Under Mr. Shastri, the team has done very well, and I hope to work with the team to take this forward. There are some marquee multi-team events in the next two years, and I look forward to working with the players and the support staff to achieve our potential.”