Karnataka cricket will be strong if club cricket is strong: Dravid

On the occasion of Mount Joy Cricket Club’s Golden Jubilee, former Indian cricket team coach and legend Rahul Dravid emphasised the need of the club cricketing system in developing talent across the state for the country.

Rahul Dravid, who left the coach’s role after India’s historic T20 World Cup win against South Africa at June, spoke about how Indian Cricket is at its strongest. “Back when I was growing up, If you’d face any team in the South except Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad, it’s fair to say, without any disrespect that you could take them lightly. I don’t think there’s any team today that you can walk in and say you will comfortably beat,” he said.

What caught the attention of the gathering is his remarks on how cricket can be strong only if it spreads across the country. “Cricket shouldn’t be in the hands of a few people, it needs to be egalitarian. One of the reasons why Indian Cricket is strong is because talent comes from everywhere.”

He stressed the importance of cricket being accessible to all. “Club cricket helps in the formative years. This needs to spread to all parts of the city and all parts of the state,” he said, adding that clubs also help hone life skills by just participating in sport. “Clubs like Mount Joy not only help produce talent for the club, but they actually build character for societies and communities,” he went on to add.

Formed in 1974, MJCC has produced key talents like Yere Goud, who’s currently the state coach, Prasidh Krishna, who currently bowls for India and BR Sharath, who captained the India U-23 team in Asia Cup