India’s outgoing head coach Rahul Dravid believes the T20 World Cup 2024 triumph in Barbados, which ended India’s 11-year wait for an ICC crown, will inject confidence into the outfit, and it won’t take so long for their next title. Until Saturday, the last ICC title they had won was the Champions Trophy in 2013.

On Saturday, the Rohit Sharma-led side finally got to lay their hands on the ICC silverware after exhibiting exemplary composure to snatch a seven-run win against a strong South African side in the nail-biting title clash. Hailing his team’s on-field effort, Dravid exuded confidence in the boys to carry the momentum to the next big-ticket tournaments.

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“We have fantastic talent in Indian cricket right now. The energy and confidence the players have is at another level. We were aiming for an ICC trophy for a long time and I am sure the team will carry this confidence forward and will win a lot of trophies in the next four, five, six years because the ability and talent this bunch has… they lack nothing,” Dravid said after the final.

“There was a moment when we were feeling that we were working really hard and playing good cricket as well but we were not able to cross that hurdle. But after today I am very hopeful that these boys will take it forward and win a lot of trophies.”

Dravid, who took over from Ravi Shastri in November 2021, revealed that the preparation for the lifting a major ICC title isn’t an overnight journey but involved meticulous planning for the past two years, during which the team crashed out of the semifinals of the 2022 edition of the T20 World Cup, and endured heartbreaks at the 2023 ICC World Test Championship final and the 2023 ODI World Cup final (against Australia on both occasions).

“Honestly, this is a journey of two years. This is not a journey from just this T20 World Cup. When I think about the construction of this team, the kind of skills we wanted, the players we wanted, those discussions started in September (November) 2021.

“So it’s two years of work. This is not the work of just this World Cup. I think it culminated in this World Cup. The disappointment in Australia (at the 2022 T20 World Cup) and then the one-day World Cup – there’s so much that has gone into it. This feels like a journey of not just one month, it feels like a journey of two years. What we’ve tried to build, what we have tried to create, it feels like it has all come together here on a beautiful afternoon in Barbados,” he said.

Hailing the team’s fighting spirit, which was on display during the final, especially during the final five overs when South Africa needed at run-a-ball but Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya kept things tight to gift India the win.

“I’m not usually short of words but I have felt really short of words over the last few hours. I just could not be more proud of this team. The way we’ve had to fight in difficult situations and even today, I think it was a great testament to the fight in the team. Losing three wickets in the first six (overs), to be in the kind of position we were in with 30 balls to go. But the boys just kept fighting, they kept believing, and I think it’s just a great credit to them,” he said.

“As part of the coaching staff, I feel really grateful because we’re getting to enjoy these moments because of what they have done in a pressure situation. It is lovely to be a part of a dressing room like this and I think it’s a memory of a lifetime for me. So I’m really thankful and grateful to the team and everyone in the support staff who has made this possible.”

Dravid, whose initial term as head coach was for two years, but received an extension till the T20 World Cup 2024, doesn’t see the T20 World Cup win in the West Indies as a redemption for him personally. As a player, Dravid never won a World Cup, and under his captaincy, India were knocked out of the 2007 ODI World Cup in the first round, and that tournament coincidentally was also held in the Caribbean.

“There is no redemption. I’m not one of those guys who think about redemption and those kind of things. As a player, I was not lucky enough to win a trophy. But I tried my best, I gave my best whenever I played and it wasn’t to be, and that happens, it’s part of sport. There are a lot of other players I know who have not been able to win a trophy. I was lucky to be given the opportunity to coach a team and I was lucky that this bunch of boys made it possible for me to win this trophy.

“It’s a nice feeling, but it’s not like I’m aiming for some redemption. It’s just a job that I was doing. I’ve loved doing this job. I have loved working with Rohit and this team. It’s been a great journey and I really enjoyed it.”

Earlier this year, Dravid had communicated to the BCCI his decision not to seek another term, which means he ended his stint as a World Cup-winning coach.