WTC Final 2023: We don’t feel any pressure in terms of trying to win an ICC trophy – Rahul Dravid

Indian head coach Rahul Dravid admitted they don’t feel any pressure in terms of trying to win an ICC trophy. India last won an ICC trophy back in 2013 when MS Dhoni led the team to glory in the Champions Trophy. Since then India has been qualifying for the knockout stages of major events but they haven’t been able to cross the last hurdle.

Dravid said that qualifying for the final of the World Test Championship is the culmination of the team’s last two years efforts. India finished in second place in the points table of the WTC 2021-23 cycle with 10 wins, five losses, and three draws. The Rohit Sharma-led team had a win percentage of 58.80.

The former Indian skipper added it will be good to get over the line but feels even if they don’t end up on the right side of the result, it won’t take away the good work they have done in the last few years.

Rahul Dravid said in the post-match press conference when asked about pressure of ending ICC title drought, “No, not at all.” Dravid elaborated.

“I mean, we don’t feel any pressure in terms of trying to win an ICC trophy. Of course, it would be nice to do it. It’s certainly nice to be able to win an ICC tournament. But also in the context of things, you look at this and you see this is the culmination of two years of work, it’s a culmination of a lot of success that gets you here.

“So there’s a lot of positives to take from that to see where you stand on the table, winning series in Australia, drawing series here, being very competitive everywhere that this team has played in the world over the last five or six years.

Dravid maintained that the team which will play better cricket over the course of five days will improve their chances of winning the game. Both teams have been performing consistently in the Test format.

“Look, whatever will happen will happen in those five days. Anything that happens before or after doesn’t really make a difference. Who is the favourite, who isn’t, when two good teams with good players play, whichever team performs well over the five days, will win.

The WTC Final will be played at the Oval from June 7.