I want Ashwin to have freedom to take cricketing calls: Dravid

As a coach in franchise cricket, Rahul Dravid has had the experience of interacting with various types of owners — some passionate to the core and a few non-interfering and observant from a distance.

As he wears a new hat — as an owner of Dublin Guardians franchise in European T20 League (ETPL), Dravid believes that he will refrain from getting into the cricketing side of the team as he wants skipper Ravichandran Ashwin to have complete freedom while taking decisions.

Asked what kind of an owner he would like to be, Dravid could only laugh.

“So we’ll only know when that happens. We’ll only know how I will be because it’s going to be my first opportunity and experience,” he told PTI in an interview.

Despite his vast cricketing knowledge having been involved with top flight cricket for 30 years, Dravid has understood that in his new role, he needs to maintain a distance.

“I think honestly, the plan is for me to not actually get involved in the cricketing side of things. So, to put together a good team that can do the job on a day-to-day basis. You certainly won’t see me in the dugout. And I’m not someone who’s going to be there at every practice session. Or for that matter, not there for even every game,” Dravid was very clear about what kind of team owner he wants to be. Having signed Ashwin as the captain of Dublin Guardians, Dravid believes that the legendary off-spinner needs to be given space to operate. “But I will certainly be supportive. I think we’re lucky to have signed on someone like Ashwin as a captain and a mentor.

And we’ll put a team around him that will allow him to lead the team and run the team in the way that he wants to,” Dravid said.

“My job will really be to put together a team both on the field and of course there’s a lot of work that needs to be done at a franchise level off the field. Which for me will be the priority and the focus. And sort of let Ashwin and the experts (support staff) that we pick, let them manage and run the cricket.

“So that is certainly the direction and the plan and the role that I see for myself,” the former India head coach was very clear about how he wants to operate.

Owning a franchise is a new domain and Dravid knows that he has a lot to learn.

“Obviously, it’s a new frontier. It’s new and it’s something that obviously I’m excited about, but I do understand that I have a lot to learn. I have a lot to grow.

“I’ve been lucky that I’ve been given this opportunity and a chance to be able to do something new, to be able to learn and grow in another field, in another area.”

There are way too many T20 franchise league cricket happening around the world at the moment but Dravid is confident that ETPL can make its own space.

“There is a rich history and a culture and a tradition in this part of the world, in Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands and in parts of Europe. Cricket is played by the local population as well and has been played for a long time. There are a lot of clubs here in Ireland and including a lot of Indian professionals have come here and played in Ireland.”

“So there’s already a captive audience. There’s already a captive followership. There’s already a captive talent pool that we can hope to sort of build on.”

The ETPL, which includes three nations — Scotland, Ireland and the Netherlands provides them with a huge canvas, said Dravid.

“So it’s not only about Ireland, but combining Scotland and Netherlands and the rest of Europe as well gives us a much bigger area to work with.

“And then the quality of the kind of people involved both at the league level and at the ownership level, I feel, would be something that that would be quite fun and exciting to work with in trying to build something in this part of the world,” he signed off.