'Offered my services to Dravid. He said I was...': Ex-India star reveals why India head coach refused to work with him
The former India cricketer made a big revelation on why India head coach Rahul Dravid refused to work with him as part of the support staff.
Team India faced a close defeat to Australia in the third and final ODI of the series in Chennai, conceding a rare series loss at home. After losing the first match of the series in Mumbai, Australia made a strong comeback to defeat the hosts. In the second ODI, Mitchell Starc ran through a hapless Indian batting order, bowling them out on 117; in the final match, India's lower-middle order crumbled under pressure in the 270-run chase.
After opting to bat, Australia made a strong start to the innings before all-rounder Hardik Pandya brought the hosts back in the game with three quick wickets of Travis Head (33), Steve Smith (0) and Mitchell Marsh (47). Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav produced an impressive performance, then, as he picked three wickets as well; he removed the next three batters in the order but conceded 56 runs in his 10 overs.
A user on Twitter suggested that Kuldeep didn't bowl to the right field and compared his outing with Australian spinners Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar, suggesting that Steve Smith had better fielding placements for his spinners. The user further tagged former India spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan for his opinion on the take; however, the former India star made a stunning revelation in his reply.
“I offered my services to Rahul Dravid and he said that I was too senior to him ,to be working under him-with the spinners,” said Sivaramakrishnan.
Sivaramakrishnan, a former left-arm spinner, didn't have a long international career but took 154 wickets in 76 first-class matches. He represented India in 9 Tests and 16 ODIs. Following his retirement from the game, Sivaramakrishnan turned to broadcasting and remains on-air in most India games.
Earlier this month, Dravid called up former leg-spinner Sairaj Bahutule to work with Indian spinners during the four-Test series against Australia. India's current bowling coach is Paras Mhambrey; he succeeded Bharat Arun in the role in November 2021.
