Ravichandran Ashwin has demanded that Rahul Dravid’s planning for the 2027 ODI World Cup should have been formally documented before his departure as India’s head coach, calling it a failure of institutional process rather than individual coaching.
“I have said this so many times. When there is a 2027 ODI World Cup on the horizon, once the 2023 World Cup is over, you have to plan how the team will shape up over the next four years. Which combinations to find, who the 50-over specialists are, and whom we are going to back. If the workload is high, while managing that workload, we have to preserve players for ODIs. All this planning should have happened. So who was the coach after 2023? Rahul bhai. Rahul bhai must have asked for plans until 2027. And if not, if Rahul bhai was saying that he would be there only until 2024-25 before leaving, then his planning should have been documented.”
Ravichandran Ashwin, YouTube channel, July 2026
Ashwin explained why this Gill-Gautam Era leading towards 2027 WC lacks in clarity, which was not the case between Rohit-Rahul 2023WC Campaign leading towards Finale despite having All-Rounder issues. @ashwinravi99 Very beautifully said Anna🫡
[Cricinfo YT] pic.twitter.com/pD1pNrnJ3M— Tiwari🌟 (@AmanTiw21) July 26, 2026
The former India spinner made these remarks in the aftermath of India’s disastrous tour of the United Kingdom, where the team lost the T20I series in both Ireland and England and the ODI series against England, winning just one match out of ten. With 15 months left before the 2027 ODI World Cup, the lack of a settled squad and clear role definitions has become impossible to ignore.
Ashwin’s argument is not that Dravid was a perfect coach. It is that Dravid operated with a system, and that system produced results. He pointed to specific players and specific decisions to make his case.
“The way he backed Hardik Pandya and used him was remarkable. It was very unfortunate that he got injured in the 2023 World Cup. He backed Shubman Gill as an opening batter. He backed KL Rahul. During Rahul’s stint, KL Rahul became one of the best Test batters India had. He gave a long rope to Shardul Thakur at number eight in overseas games. He gave a place to Kuldeep Yadav as the third spinner for India.”
Ravichandran Ashwin, YouTube channel, July 2026
Each name on that list represents a deliberate coaching choice. Gill, who has since set the 2027 World Cup as his personal target, was not a consensus pick as opener in ODIs when Dravid first backed him. KL Rahul’s Test career was drifting before Dravid gave him a defined role and consistent selection. Shardul Thakur at number eight overseas was a gamble that required the coach to absorb public criticism when it did not work immediately. Kuldeep Yadav’s place as the third spinner meant someone else missed out, and Dravid owned that call publicly. Ashwin himself has questioned whether Kuldeep was backed enough under the current setup, particularly after Gambhir’s decision to drop him at Lord’s.
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Why Ashwin Believes Dravid’s Planning Should Have Survived His Exit
The sharpest part of Ashwin’s argument is not about what Dravid did right. It is about what happened to that work after he left. When Hardik Pandya was injured during the 2023 World Cup, Dravid’s coaching staff did not panic. They did not scramble to find a replacement all-rounder. They changed the structure entirely and went with five specialist bowlers instead.
“If Hardik is not there, it’s Nitish Kumar Reddy and then Shivam Dube. There is no point in harping about players that are not ready to play in your combination. If they are injured, they are injured. That’s par for the course in any sport. Look at the 2023 World Cup, which just fizzled out because Hardik wasn’t part of the combination. But the moment it fizzled out, they were not searching, and they did not try to play the sixth bowler. They skinned the cat differently and went with five bowlers.”
Ravichandran Ashwin, Cricinfo, July 2026
That tactical flexibility came from preparation, not improvisation. Dravid’s staff had already mapped out alternative combinations before the tournament began. When the crisis arrived, they executed Plan B without hesitation. That kind of contingency planning is exactly what Ashwin believes should have been written down and passed on to the next coaching regime. The contrast with the current setup is stark. Ashwin has previously pointed out that players under Gambhir lack the security that Dravid’s system provided, and has compared India’s current selection approach to a game of musical chairs.
Ashwin extended this argument beyond just the playing eleven. He said the coaching pipeline itself needs the same kind of long-term development that players receive. Under-19 cricket, the NCA, India A, and the senior team all operate differently, and moving coaches between them without preparation creates gaps. Dravid understood this because he had coached at every level before taking the senior job. He worked closely with VVS Laxman at the NCA, and the two found ways to coordinate despite the different demands of their roles. Laxman, who has since taken charge of India for the Zimbabwe tour, was a key part of this ecosystem.
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Ashwin specifically praised Laxman’s work ethic in this ecosystem. For any tour Laxman goes on as interim coach, he starts preparing 20 days in advance, as if he is going to play himself. That level of investment from the support structure around the head coach is what made Dravid’s system function. It was not one person. It was a network of people who talked to each other, found middle ground, and worked together. Laxman’s bilateral series coaching record reflects the thoroughness Ashwin is describing.
Insider Read:
When a coach backs you, the effect is not just tactical. It is psychological. You walk out to bat knowing that a failure today will not cost you your place tomorrow. That changes everything about how you play.
A batter who knows he has five innings to prove himself approaches a run chase differently from one who believes this might be his last game. He takes the right risks, not desperate ones. He trusts his preparation because someone in authority has told him, through selection and through conversation, that his preparation is valued.
Dravid gave that to his players. When Ashwin says players never felt a lack of stability, he is describing something that does not show up in scorecards or selection announcements. It shows up in the nerve a team has in the third session on day five. It shows up in a bowler committing fully to a plan even when it is not working in the first spell, because he knows the coach will not replace him for the next match based on one bad day. The freedom to fail without consequence is what separates a team that performs under pressure from one that collapses.
“Players never felt a lack of stability. You can’t fault that. I worked closely with him. People can criticize, but they criticize the best in the business too. Tell me one thing: is there anyone who hasn’t been criticized? Everything attracts criticism. Leave social media criticism aside. That is not the point. Ask any of the players from Rahul bhai’s stint how he was as a coach. Then tell me. Players will tell you. Everybody will.”
Ravichandran Ashwin, YouTube channel, July 2026
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Ashwin is not saying Dravid was beyond criticism. He is saying that the criticism misses what the players experienced from the inside. Results are public. The environment that produced those results is not. A coach who gives you clarity about your role, backs you when the outside noise gets loud, and plans your workload months in advance creates a dressing room where players compete against the opposition, not against their own insecurity. This is the same point Mohammad Kaif made recently when he rated Gambhir’s tenure 4 out of 10, and what Dinesh Karthik questioned about the Gambhir-Agarkar approach to player management.
That is what Ashwin believes was lost when Dravid’s tenure ended without a documented handover. Not just the tactical plans. The culture. Ashwin and Dravid have since reunited at the Dublin Guardians in the ETPL, where Dravid co-owns the franchise and Ashwin captains it. The professional bond between them remains intact, and it is that bond that gives Ashwin’s defence of Dravid’s coaching its weight. He is not speaking as an outsider. He is speaking as someone who played under Dravid for three years and knows exactly what that dressing room felt like. Gambhir has not made a public statement on Ashwin’s remarks at time of publication.
Also Read:
- Ashwin Questions Whether Gambhir Has Given Players Enough Security
- Ashwin on Whether Kuldeep Yadav Was Backed Enough Under Current Setup
- Ashwin Compares India’s Selection Approach to Musical Chairs
- Ashwin on Sanju Samson Being Dropped from Zimbabwe Squad
- Shubman Gill Sets 2027 World Cup Target
- India Selection Controversy Under Current Management
- Ashwin Backs Bhuvneshwar Kumar for India Return
- ODI World Cup 2027 Super Series Format Explained
- Vikrant Gupta on Gambhir-Agarkar Review
