Lucky to call you my work wife, my confidant: Rohit pays tribute to Dravid

“Privilege to call you my confidant, my coach and my friend,” wrote Rohit Sharma in an emotional Instagram post for the outgoing coach Rahul Dravid, reflecting on their three-year-long stint in the coach-captain relationship for the Indian team. 

Rohit Sharma’s full-time captaincy stint began with Dravid’s tenure as India’s head coach post the T20 World Cup in 2021. The Indian team featured in four ICC tournaments during their term, making it to the semi-final of the T20 World Cup in 2022, the final of the World Test Championship 2021-23, the final of the ODI World Cup 2023 and finally clinching the trophy in the 2024 T20 World Cup. 

Rohit made his India debut under Dravid’s captaincy back in 2007. The Mumbaikar said in his post that he looked up to the former Indian skipper growing up and expressed his gratitude for Dravid’s humility despite his achievements. 

"Dear Rahul bhai, I have been trying to find the right words to express my feelings properly on this, but I'm not sure I ever will, so here's my attempt," Rohit wrote in his Instagram post.

"Since my childhood days, I have looked up to you just like billions of others, but I was lucky enough to get to work with you this closely. 

“You are an absolute stalwart of this game but you left all of your accolades and achievements at the door and walked in as our coach and came on a level where we all felt comfortable enough to say just about anything to you. That is your gift, your humility and your love for this game even after all this time. I have learnt so much from you and every memory will be cherished."

Rohit then referred his former captain and coach as his ‘work wife.’ "My wife refers to you as my work wife and I'm lucky to get to call you that too," Rohit wrote. "This was the only thing missing from your arsenal and I'm so happy that we got to achieve it together. Rahul bhai it has been an absolute privilege to get to call you my confidant, my coach and my friend,” he mentioned. 

Dravid was originally supposed to coach India until the 50-over World Cup last year but later extended his contract by eight months at the behest of Rohit and the BCCI secretary, Jay Shah. Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from T20Is after India’s World Cup win but will continue to lead the Men in Blue in ODIs and Tests. 

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