Bridgetown (Barbados), July 2

Had he not received a phone call from India skipper Rohit Sharma requesting him to continue after the ODI World Cup final defeat, Rahul Dravid wouldn’t have been a part of history, the outgoing head coach revealed in his farewell speech to the team.

Dravid’s tenure had ended with the ODI World Cup after India lost to Australia in the final despite a 10-match winning run, but the coaching staff got an extension till the end of the T20 World Cup that concluded on Saturday.

Champs set to return

Bridgetown: The stranded T20 World Cup winners are set to fly home aboard a charter flight after Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley said she expects the airport here to become operational in the “next six to 12 hours”, ending the shutdown forced by a category 4 hurricane. PTI

Ro, thank you very much for making that call to me in November and asking to continue. I think it’s been such a privilege and a pleasure to work with each and every one of you, but Ro, also thanks for the time…there is a lot of time we have to chat, we have to discuss, we have to agree amp; disagree at times, but thank you. Rahul Dravid

While Dravid has not reapplied for the role after India’s second T20 World Cup win, he mentioned Rohit’s role in urging him to continue as the coach during his speech in the Kensington Oval dressing room after the team’s seven-run win in the final against South Africa.

“Ro, thank you very much for making that call to me in November and asking to continue,” Dravid said in a video shared by BCCI today.

“I think it’s been such a privilege and a pleasure to work with each and every one of you, but Ro, also thanks for the time…there is a lot of time we have to chat, we have to discuss, we have to agree, we have to disagree at times, but thank you so very much,” Dravid said as Rohit laughed.

Dravid praised the players for putting up solid collective performances throughout the tournament and urged them to celebrate the achievement as much as they would like.

“All of you will remember these moments. We always say, it is not about the runs, it is not about the wickets, you never remember your career but you remember moments like this, so let’s really enjoy,” Dravid said.

“I could not be more proud of you guys, to come back the way you did, the way you fought, the way we worked as a team…the resilience. There has been some disappointment over the years where we have come close, we have never been able to cross the line,” he said.

Like a baby

Rohit held the trophy like a new-born baby as he walked towards the beach here for the triumphant captain’s post-tournament photoshoot, a serene smile refusing to leave his face and the feeling of being a world champion yet to fully sink in.

He couldn’t be faulted for being a bit dazed. After all, a jinx that lasted over a decade had been broken. “It’s surreal. It feels like a dream. It feels like it hasn’t happened,” Rohit told BCCI.TV.

The coastal city of Bridgetown is battling a hurricane. The same could also be said about the Indian captain, only that his is a battle to control a gamut of emotions threatening to overwhelm him like a huge sea wave every now and then.

“We had a good time, we had a blast with the teammates till the early morning,” he couldn’t stop grinning, adding, “I didn’t sleep properly but that’s absolutely fine. There is a lot of time for me to go back and sleep.”