Rahul Dravid Reveals His Most Challenging Time With Team India During South Africa Test Series

Rahul Dravid has shared his most challenging moment as the head coach of the senior India men's cricket team. Surprisingly, it wasn't the defeat in the final of World Cup 2023 that troubled him the most.

Instead, Dravid pointed to India's 2021-22 tour of South Africa as his lowest point. This series was also the last three Test matches with Virat Kohli as captain. Dravid believed India should have secured their first-ever Test series win in South Africa after taking an initial 1-0 lead.

India achieved a historic victory at Centurion, winning the first Test by seven wickets. However, they faced challenges in Johannesburg during the second Test without Virat Kohli. Despite a brave fight, India lost by seven wickets. They set a target of 239 runs for South Africa, but the hosts chased it down comfortably in the fourth innings.

Kohli returned for the final Test, and India managed a 13-run lead in the first innings. Unfortunately, they were bowled out for 198 in the second innings. South Africa chased down 211 runs with ease, losing only three wickets. India missed opportunities to secure victories in both games.

"If you ask me what is the lowest point, I would say the South Africa Test series early on in my career," Rahul Dravid told ESPNcricinfo. "We won the first Test match in South Africa in Centurion, and then we were playing in the second and third Test match. We have never won a series in South Africa, as you know. It was a really big opportunity for us to win that series."

Dravid highlighted that some senior players were absent during this crucial series due to injuries, including Rohit Sharma. Despite these setbacks, he felt India had significant chances to win both the second and third Tests but couldn't capitalise on them.

Kohli's Captaincy Transition

Virat Kohli had already stepped down from T20I captaincy and was removed as ODI captain before this tour. Following India's 1-2 series defeat against South Africa, Kohli also resigned from Test captaincy. Subsequently, Rohit Sharma took over as India's captain across all formats.

"Some of our senior players were not there," Dravid added. "Rohit Sharma was injured, and we didn't have some senior players in that series. But we were very close, and in both the Test matches—the second and third test matches—in the third inning, we had a big opportunity. We could have set a decent score and won the game, but South Africa played well."

The missed chance to win their first-ever Test series in South Africa remains a significant regret for Rahul Dravid during his coaching tenure with India's cricket team.