'Such narratives in team sport are the worst': Ashwin's strong reaction to India coach's 'Do it for Dravid' response

Team India has enjoyed an unbeaten run to the final of the T20 World Cup, where it takes on South Africa, another side yet to face defeat in the edition. The upcoming title clash on Saturday will be Rahul Dravid's last match as India's head coach, and emotions will be justifiably high as the Indian batting legend aims to end his stint with the national team on a high.

Ahead of the game, however, Dravid insisted that he doesn't want to be the centre of attention, playing down the ‘Do It for Dravid’ campaign that has taken social media by storm in India. The head coach stated it goes against his “values” and India's star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has now hailed Dravid for his response.

IND vs SA Live Score, T20 World Cup Final

Taking to his official X profile, Ashwin lauded the Indian head coach, saying that focusing on an individual in a team game and creative narratives around them is the “worst thing” to happen to the team's environment.

“Narratives of building it up for someone in a team sport is the worst thing that can happen for a healthy team environment. I know this man really well and despite being offered the narrative, he turns it down in a classy manner. Let’s fight once more. #proudofteamIndia,” Ashwin wrote.

Rahul Dravid joined the Indian team in 2021, replacing Ravi Shastri as the side's head coach. While India hasn't ended the ICC title drought under his tenure yet, the duo of Dravid and Rohit Sharma as captain oversaw brilliant performances from the side across formats.

In the 2022 T20 World Cup, India reached the semi-finals, while in 2023, India played in two finals—the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup—where the side endured crushing defeats to Australia. Dravid now has an opportunity to end an 11-year wait for an ICC title when India meets Aiden Markram's men in Barbados.

India's performances in T20 WC 2024

India emerged as the most dominant side in the tournament despite sharing the unbeaten record with South Africa; while the Proteas had multiple close shaves in their win, India were relatively more clinical. Barring a narrow six-run win against arch-rivals Pakistan in the group stage, India enjoyed cruising victories over teams like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Australia in the Super Eights, before decimating England by 68 runs in the semi-finals.