Batting legend and former captain Dravid named Indian cricket team new head coach

Former captain Rahul Dravid was appointed head coach of the Indian men's cricket team on Wednesday, replacing the highly successful Ravi Shastri, the BCCI national cricket board said.

"Rahul has had an illustrious playing career and is one of the greats of the game... I am hopeful that his new stint will take Indian cricket to new heights," Sourav Ganguly, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said in a statement announcing the appointment.

Dravid, 48, will take charge from the upcoming home series against New Zealand later this month.

Shastri's departure at the end of the ongoing T20 World Cup — at which India's hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals are far from certain — had already been announced.

As a batsman Dravid was famous for his classical style and rock solid defence, earning the nickname "Mr Dependable."

He scored 13,288 runs in 164 Tests, second only to the legendary Sachin Tendulkar for India and fourth overall in the world rankings.

Dravid, formerly head coach of India A and the under-19s, called his appointment "an absolute honour."

"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," he said in the statement.

"With two World Cups scheduled to take place in the next two years, it is important to have a seamless transition, and the former India captain is the right man for the job," said Jay Shah, BCCI honorary secretary.

"Having provided the much-needed direction to NCA (National Cricket Academy) and overseen the progression of the boys at India U-19 and India A level, we believe this is also a natural progression for him as a coach. I have no doubt that under him, the Indian team will dominate in all formats," Shah said.

The BCCI paid tribute to Shastri and his "bold and fearless approach."

Under Shastri, who took over in July 2017, India won all their seven Test series at home and are ranked number two behind New Zealand.

India became the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia (2018-19) and followed it with another series win in 2020-21.

This summer India made it to the final of the inaugural World Test Championship in England this summer, but lost to New Zealand.