T20 World Cup 2021: "It will be nice working with him" - Rohit Sharma on Rahul Dravid’s appointment as India head coach

Team India opener Rohit Sharma has congratulated former captain Rahul Dravid following his appointment as the new head coach of the national side. Rohit said the players are looking forward to working with the 48-year-old.

Dravid replaces Ravi Shastri, whose tenure comes to an end following the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE.

Asked for his reaction to the big development at a post-match conference following India’s win over Afghanistan, Rohit said it was nice to see Dravid returning to the team in a different capacity.

“Congratulations to him for coming back, but in different capacity, in the Indian team. We look forward to working with him. He is a stalwart of Indian cricket and it will be nice working with him in the future,” Rohit said.

The upcoming home series against New Zealand, which starts on November 17, will be Dravid’s first assignment as Team India’s full-time coach. He previously mentored a limited-overs squad led by Shikhar Dhawan in Sri Lanka in July.

Apart from being the Director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore, Dravid has also worked closely with the India A and India U-19 teams as a coach.

“An absolute honour” - Rahul Dravid on being appointed as Team India’s head coach

Reacting to his appointment as India's new head coach, Rahul Dravid said that he was "absolutely honored" and looking forward to the challenge.

“It is an absolute honour 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," Dravid said in a statement.

"Having worked closely with most of the boys either at NCA, U19 and India A setup, I know they have the passion and desire to improve every day. 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."

Dravid is regarded as one of the finest batters to ever play for the country, having amassed over 13,000 runs in Tests and more than 10,000 in ODIs.