Rahul Dravid will do an incredible job as India coach: Shane Watson

New Delhi Veteran Australian allrounder Shane Watson has backed batting legend Rahul Dravid to step in as the Indian cricket teams head coach should the former captain get the cricket boardrsquos nod for the vacant postAt the starting point there is no doubt about the quality of person Rahul Dravid is I was very fortunate to know him well while working with him at Rajasthan Royals first as the captain and later as the mentor and then learning about his cricketing abilities Watson told IANS on the phone from Bengaluru on the sidelines of PampGs flagship Corporate Social Responsibility programme PampG ShikshaRahul Dravid Shane Watson Picsmidday AFPThere is no doubt that he will do an incredible job if he gets the chance to coach India and also with Virat Kohli who is continuing to grow in this IPL as a leader He is an incredible man He has an amazing amount of experience to pass on to the youngsters added the 34yearold who quit international cricket after the 2016 WT20The top post has been lying vacant for more than a year following the departure of Zimbabwean Duncan Fletcher Ravi Shastri was serving as the director and his contract ended after the conclusion of the World Twenty20 championship held in India in MarchAprilAfter the ongoing Indian Premier League IPL the national team has a busy schedule packed with Test series against the West Indies New Zealand and England till DecemberMoreover calls have grown louder to appoint a proper head coach and Dravid has been heavily rumoured to take the jobHe has earned accolades for training Indian Premier League IPL sides the nowsuspended Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils He has also served as the head coach of the India A and Under19 sides the latter finished runnersup at the World Cup earlier this yearMany including Sunil Gavaskar and Harbhajan Singh have declared that they would like to see Dravid taking one of the most important jobs in world cricketAnd Watson who played under Dravid in Rajasthan feels that the former righthanded batting star has the necessary attributes to do well with Virat Kolhi as captain in all the three formats once Dhoni steps down as the limited overs captainDravid had captained Kohli at Royal Challengers Bangalore in the maiden edition of the IPL in 2008Watson who played for Rajasthan from 2008 to 2015 is now working closely with Kohli in this edition of the IPL at RCB who have reached their third final of the cashrich tournamentEven though he hasnt had enough batting opportunities due to the success of the top order trio of Kohli Ab de Villiers and Chris Gayle he isnt complaining He has played a crucial part in bowling with captain Kohli asking him to operate his medium pacers in the death oversHe is on top of the bowlers chart picking 20 wickets from 15 games with an economy rate of 807I am happy with whatever roles I have been assigned at the RCB My batting hasnt been required too much due to the success of the top three Virat chose me at crucial and important times and in the majority of the times it has worked and sometimes like it happens in Twenty20 cricket it hasnt worked out exactly according to the plansBut I have contributed pretty well in a lot of the games while bowling I feel great responsibility with Virat calling me to bowl those crucial overs And with my experience I try to do the best possible job he addedWhen Watson who scored 3731 runs and took 75 wickets in 59 Tests and played 190 OneDayers taking 168 wickets and scoring 5757 runs decided to retire at the age of 34 many felt it was a premature decisionBut the Queenslander feels it was right to quit the game as he plans to do offfield activities alongside playing the Twenty20 tournaments across the world Moreover he plans to become a coachI feel I still have got a few years of playing especially these Twenty20 tournaments throughout the world I would like to play IPL a few more years I have always had incredible time over here said Watson who was the Player of the Tournament in the 2008 IPLI could have played a few more years of international cricket but I have decided to do some offfield initiatives There are a lot of downtime after the T20 tournament and in this period I would like to study physical education children education from learning the coaching point of viewThats why I always say that education is extremely important and a kid whatever he does play any sport should study that will help him take the right decisions at the right time and also help in the postretirement careers Watson concluded leaving a message for the youngsters