'To Be Honest, I Am Not...': Rahul Dravid Opens Up About Future With Team India

India 's head coach, Rahul Dravid , is taking time to reflect on his future with the national team following a heartbreaking World Cup final defeat against Australia. Dravid's two-year contract officially ended after the loss, and the coach expressed the need for time to contemplate his next steps.

"I haven't thought about it. I've just come off a game. I had no time to think about this and no time to reflect on this. Yeah, I will when I get the time to do that," Dravid said at a post-match media conference. "At this point in time, I was completely focused on this campaign, and there was nothing else on my mind. And I haven't given any other thought to what happens in the future."

Dravid, often referred to as 'Mr Dependable,' remained non-committal when asked about coaching in a single format and whether he would be interested in guiding the team in the next year's T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies .

"Honestly, I haven't thought about it. I think all our campaign, all our energies were focused on this match, focused on this tournament, and focused till here. And I haven't actually given it any thought or I have no plans, I have had no plans of what's going to happen in the future," he stated.

Reflecting on his two-year tenure, Dravid emphasized the privilege of working with the players across formats. "To be honest, I am not really someone who's going to judge and analyze myself. I was really proud to work with. I think the players that I worked with over the last two years in all the formats, it's been a privilege."

Addressing the disappointment of losing the World Cup final, Dravid acknowledged the emotional toll on the players. "Of course, he's disappointed, as are many of the boys in the dressing room. It was tough to see as a coach, because I know how hard these guys have worked, what they've put in, the sacrifices they've made."

Dravid also praised Rohit Sharma's leadership, calling him an "incredible leader" who invested personal time and energy into the team. "He's been an exceptional leader. You know, Rohit's really led this team fantastically well. He's certainly got the dressing room, he's given so much of his time and energy in the dressing room to the boys."

Regarding the team's performance in the final, Dravid mentioned, "We played fearless cricket, we had 80 runs in the first powerplay. Sometimes, you have to rebuild innings after losing a few wickets, we were not defensive."

Reflecting on the target set by India, Dravid felt they fell short. "It was a bit slow to start off with when the sun was on. But I thought it played fine. It was probably a 280, 290 kind of wicket. It wasn't 240. We should have got those 40 extra runs. That might have put more pressure on Australia. Thought it played really well later on as well. So, I thought it was a pretty good wicket. Sometimes looks can be a bit deceiving. Didn't really have that many tricks."