legendary Indian batsman Rahul Dravid feels being a great player doesn't always translate into being great as a coach.
Speaking at an event organised by FICCI ladies Organisation here on Tuesday to honour Indian women cricketers Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, the former India captain eloquently made this point.
"Just because someone has played a lot of cricket at the highest level doesn't mean he would also be a good coach," Dravid, who currently is the coach of the Indian men's under-19 team said.
He further elaborated his approach to coaching with the under-19 team.
"In this job, you keep learning more as you go along. I have learned a lot from the boys during my tenure with the team.
"As a coach, I don't see the players as just cricketers but as people. Considering these players are so young, I like to share my personal experiences of being at this level and try to create a relaxed environment for them so that they are able to deal with the pressure," the former batting mainstay of the Indian team added.
On being asked whether he would like to coach the Indian women's team, if given the opportunity, 'The Wall' gave a self-deprecatory answer.
"The current coaching staff has done very well. So, there is no chance of me getting selected. I think I will be rejected at the first stage of the selection process," the veteran added light-heartedly.
On the new regulations introduced in cricket, Dravid was cautious in his assessment.
"The results will show whether these changes are good or not. We will have to give at least 1-2 years to these changes before judging them. As far as the restriction on the size of the bat is concerned, I don't think the rule changes would make much of a difference. It's only a few players who were using extremely big bats.
"The pitches and the size of the boundaries are more important," he said.
On the growth of women's cricket, the man with 164 Test caps felt there was still a lot of scope for development.
"We need to raise the skill levels of young girls at the grass-root level. We should also create more opportunities for them to play cricket. Schools and colleges should have women's cricket teams and there should be more tournaments for them. The more they play, the better they would get," the 44-year old opined.
He further went on to emphasise the importance of role models.
"There should be heroes for youngsters who inspire them and can look up to. What PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal have done for badminton in India, Mithali and Jhulan have done for women's cricket," the man with 36 Test hundreds said on the occasion.
On the value of sports, the man with more than 13,000 Test runs asked for a broader perspective.
"Children shouldn't be put into sports just to achieve success. Other benefits of being involved in sports should be taken into consideration. Sports teach you valuable lessons about life such as teamwork."