Staying true to his no-nonsense taskmaster image, outgoing India head coach Rahul Dravid had an assignment for star batter Virat Kohli even on his last day at work and within hours of India winning the T20 World Cup. “All three white ticked off, one red to go. Tick it,” Dravid told Kohli in a video of the Indian dressing room celebrations shared by the ICC on its Instagram page. By three white he meant the limited-overs global trophies — the T20 World Cup, the ODI World Cup and the Champions Trophy — all of which Kohli has collected as a player.
What’s left now is winning the World Test Championship Final.
India have lost the WTC Final twice (against New Zealand in 2021 and Australia in 2023).
The 35-year-old Kohli, who retired from T20 Internationals after the World Cup triumph here on Saturday, merely smiled at Dravid as he repeated himself to assert his point, albeit with a warm smile on his face.
“Go tick it.” The 51-year-old Dravid, who was appointed India coach in 2021, ended his tenure with this event.
“All three white ticked off, one red to go…tick it ” pic.twitter.com/0MLAcGgYyo
— Gaurav (@Melbourne__82) June 30, 2024
India defeated South Africa by seven runs in the humdinger to claim their second overall T20 world crown, having won the title in its inaugural edition in South Africa back in 2007 under Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
In the ODI format, India won the 1983 and 2011 World Cups before snaring the 2013 Champions Trophy.
The congratulatory video also featured Suryakumar Yadav, whose blinder of a catch to dismiss David Miller proved crucial in the final here.
The Mumbaikar said it would take him at least two days to fully grasp the enormity of the achievement.
“No feelings right now, I don’t know what to say,” he said.
Pacer Arshdeep Singh flaunted a couple of polaroid shots of his, one taken on the morning of the final and the other with the winner’s medal around his neck and the trophy in his hands in the afternoon.
“This is what belief can do,” he said.
The Indian team is currently stranded here as Barbados has been shut down due to hurricane Beryl, originating in the Atlantic. The category 4 hurricane has intensified with maximum sustained winds of 210 kmph.
The Indian team was supposed to take an Emirates flight from New York via Dubai. A source told PTI that the plan now is to take the team back to India on a charter flight.
The Indian contingent, including support staff, families, and officials, consists of about 70 members.
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