‘I have Had Some Other…’: Rahul Dravid Agitated by 1997 Barbados Loss Reminder Before India vs Afghanistan Match

New Delhi: Team India head coach Rahul Dravid was not inclined to revisit the heartbreaking loss against the West Indies in a Test match at the Kensington Oval, Barbados, in 1997, ahead of their Super 8 clash against Afghanistan. Under Sachin Tendulkar’s captaincy, India endured a tense defeat against the West Indies while chasing a modest target of 120 in the fourth innings of the third Test. Despite securing a significant 121-run lead after the first innings, India experienced a dramatic collapse in their pursuit of the target.

Rahul Dravid, who scored brilliant 78-run in the first innings against the Windies, failed to make any impact with the bat in the second innings as he managed to score only 2 runs.

The Super 8 clash between India and Afghanistan will take place at the same venue on Thursday, and a reporter asked Dravid about the sour memories of the 1997 test match, which rattled the Indian coach a bit.

“Geez, thanks a lot buddy! I have had some other decent memories here as well,” Dravid replied.

When asked if Dravid will focus on making new and great memories at the Kensington Oval this time, Dravid made a no-nonsense statement, “God man! I am not trying to make anything new, man!”

Dravid said that he doesn’t carry the baggage of past incidents and moves on from them quite quickly. The Indian coach also said he is most definitely not worried about what happened in 1997.

“I move on from things very quickly. That’s one of my things. I don’t look back on things. I try and look at what I am doing now, at the moment. I am not concerned about what happened in 97 or some other year,” Dravid said at the press conference.

The result against Afghanistan will not change anything for Dravid, as he is only looking on helping India to win the match.

“By winning this… you know. If you had told me that by winning this, we would have not scored 80-odd and scored 121, then I would be bothered. But, even if we win this match tomorrow, unfortunately, that is still going to remain 80 on the scorecard, however much I try and will it. No, I don’t think about any retribution. I move on from things. What’s in front of me, good or bad? I don’t think of myself much as a player anymore. Yeah, just move on. Focus on tomorrow, and try and get a good result tomorrow,” Dravid added.

Meanwhile, India maintained an unbeaten record in the group stage of the T20 World Cup, playing all their matches in the USA. As they transition to the Caribbean for the Super 8 round, the team will aim to swiftly adapt to the new conditions.