Rahul Dravid explains how Rohit Sharma changed India's T20 cricket

Rahul Dravid [L] and Rohit Sharma [R] (Source: Alex Davidson/ICC via Getty Images)

Former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid has praised Rohit Sharma for his contribution to India's success in the white-ball format. The Men in Blue have tasted significant success in their past few white-ball tournaments. Dravid revealed how Rohit suggested him to adopt a fresh style when he joined the coaching setup in November 2021.

"From the time I came in, a lot of the discussions with Rohit around was that we wanted to play a more aggressive brand of cricket. And we tried, we started right from the beginning because we could see that that's the way the game was evolving and Rohit deserves a lot of credit for it," stated Dravid during an interaction on Breakfast with Champions.

The ex-coach listed how Rohit wanted to steer the limited-overs setup towards a definite path. He also commented on how the landscape of 20-over cricket all around the world has changed due to how India's new approach.

"To move the team in a particular direction. Play the game in a lot more aggressive and a lot more positive way, and I'm glad that we've sort of kept going in that direction to the point where I think India's kind of changing what T20 cricket is like," he added.

Dravid succeeded Ravi Shastri and was appointed as India's coach by the Board of Control for Cricket in India on November 3, 2021. His term as head coach was supposed to end after the 2023 World Cup. India ended up as runners-up in that tournament.

However, his contract was extended till the 2024 T20 World Cup. The tournament in the Americas proved to be the perfect swansong for coach Dravid as Rohit led the side to a memorable win. 

A lot of the members from Dravid's ODI setup were also in India's 2025 Champions Trophy-winning squad. Avid Indian supporters credit Dravid's contribution in playing a part in backing players who later ended up delivering in the 2025 Champions Trophy and then the Asia Cup 2025.