As teammates at the same site in 2011, head coach Rahul Dravid and senior pro Virat Kohli will be preparing for the task in different roles this time, making the upcoming series between West Indies and India a unique one for the pair. Dravid was one of the more experienced players on the team when Kohli made his Test debut during India’s 2011 tour to the West Indies.
Twelve years later, Kohli has returned to the pitch as a senior player, while Dravid is still connected to the group as its head coach. Since they are the only two players from the 2011 team who are returning to the Caribbean for the two-match Test series, it will undoubtedly bring back fond memories for the pair.
The two discussed in-depth about the emotion and the 2011 game in a video that the BCCI released.
2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣1️⃣ – Team members
2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣3️⃣ – Head Coach & Batter
12 years on Rahul Dravid & Virat Kohli reminisce some special Dominica memories 😊#TeamIndia | #WIvIND | @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/HRkBLS2Lam
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 12, 2023
Rahul Dravid said as follows:
It was a really important occasion for this Island and the ground here when I returned in 2011. Virat was the sole one present when we first arrived here in 2011, so he will return in a different capacity to serve in this capacity as a coach and bring a squad here. In my memory, Virat was a young player who had performed admirably in one-day cricket and who was still getting his bearings in test cricket. It was his maiden Test series with the Indian side. However, it was clear there was a particular talent out there and that he would stick around for a while.
You can never know how long, therefore you can always be pleased of his trip. It is good to have followed his path and seen him develop from a young athlete on that tour to a senior veteran. I certainly never imagined that I would coach and come here ten years later. I should refer to him as the senior player on the tour rather than a veteran. It is wonderful to follow his path, and I consider myself to be a young coach just beginning my own. So, somewhat, the roles have reversed (laughter).
Virat Kohli remarked as follows:
“I kind of remembered my first series here as a Test player when we went to the dressing room and when we went to practise. This is the country where it all started, the Caribbean. Coming back here after 12 years and having played more than 100 Test matches is just incredible; I never could have anticipated anything like this. Given that he has been coaching for a while, I believe that his remark about being a young coach was made in a very humble manner. He was a senior, seasoned Test player who I was on the same squad as, and we all looked up to him.
“I actually told Rahul bhai that it was rather fantastic. I remarked that I’m sure you never would have dreamed that twelve years later, we would return to the same location, and that I would have played in more than 100 games while you would be the head coach. Nobody could have predicted that. It is a blessing that the only two people from the previous trip who are still present in different capacities are us, but the journeys have been very spectacular and it feels like life has come full circle.
