AHMEDABAD: Rahul Dravid remained coy when asked if he would like to continue as coach of the Indian team. Dravid, who had a contract till the World Cup, said, "I haven't thought about it," he said.
"I have just come off a game and have (had) no time to reflect on this. I was completely focused on this campaign," he added.
On the campaign itself, Dravid said while there would be disappointment, the team 'entertained the fans' throughout their 11-match journey. "Every single venue we went to was packed," he said. "People came out to watch. It was a great privilege to play in front of our fans and I thought the team did really well and really entertained the fans. So, while there may be some disappointments today (Sunday), I think there's a lot of joy that this team has given to the people over the last couple of months."
On the final itself, the coach admitted that the batting could have been better. "... we didn't bat well enough in the first innings," he said.
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On the country's repeated issues in getting over the line in big finals or tournaments (Dravid has now overseen two losses in ICC finals apart from a semifinal defeat), he said, "If I knew the answer, I would say that," he admitted.
"I've been involved in three now, one semifinal, the World Test Championship, and this one as well. I just think we haven't played really well on the day. I mean, I thought we were a bit short in Adelaide, in the semifinal (of the T20 World Cup last year). We lost the first day in the World Test Championship, unfortunately. We didn't bowl particularly well after Australia was three down there. And here we didn't bat well enough."
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However, did he feel considering the dominance the team had enjoyed through the 10-match winning streak, this was a missed opportunity? Dravid didn't give a straight answer.
"It's going to take some time for the dust to settle," he said. "So, you know, at this point of time, yeah, at this point of time, there's disappointment. But, you know, I'd like to believe that, you know, in time, we'll look at some of the positives of this. But sure, at this point of time, there is disappointment."
That, undeniably, was the one overriding theme.
