It's great that younger Indian players are leading well in the IPL: Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid, the head coach of India, feels that Indian players captaining their teams in the Indian Premier League have developed a lot. He said that having to make decisions on the field helps them grow as players, adding that having multiple leadership options is great from the perspective of the Indian cricket team. India will play against South Africa in a five-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series, starting on June 9 (Thursday).

Dravid said that it is great to have young Indian batters such as Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson, doing well in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as captains. The former India batter also said that Hardik Pandya’s leadership was impressive in the IPL as the all-rounder guided Gujarat Titans to the title. He added that it was good from his perspective that the all-rounder has started to bowl again.

It is great that we have a lot of Indian captains doing well: Rahul Dravid

In IPL 2022, Samson-led Rajasthan Royals, Rahul-led Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans took the top three spots in the league table. Iyer captained Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2022 season and also led Delhi Capitals (DC) to their first-ever final in the 2020 season. Iyer, Hardik and Rahul also made the squad for the South Africa tour of India series.

“It is great that we have a lot of Indian captains doing well. Hardik was one of them. Brilliant. KL did a good job at LSG and Sanju in RR. Shreyas in KKR,” said Dravid at a press conference. “It is really great to see the young batters leading the team. It helps people grow and develop as players, having to lead teams to make the decisions.”

“It helps you grow as a person and as a player. It is great from our perspective that the younger Indian players are leading well in the IPL,” added the 49-year-old. “His (Hardik) leadership was very impressive in the IPL and he performed well. You don’t have to be designated as a leader to be part of the leadership group.”