India's Strongest Walls: Similarities between Rahul Dravid and PR Sreejesh

PR Sreejesh recently retired from hockey after winning the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024 for India. Before the tournament, he announced his retirement and the players wanted to win the gold medal for him. It reminded the cricket fans of the Indian team wishing to win the T20 World Cup 2024 for Rahul Dravid, who announced the tournament to be his last stint as the Indian coach.

Both PR Sreejesh and Dravid are synonymous with the 'Wall'. While the Indian goalkeeper was an expert as a wall, stopping as many goals with his might, Dravid was an expert in defending the ball and stopping it from going behind the stumps. Sreejesh was one of India's best goalkeepers in hockey. Dravid stepped up as a wicketkeeper whenever India needed it.

Many do not believe in fairytale ending in a field like Sports. However, both Sreejesh and Rahul for one. While the Hockey star got it as a player, Dravid got it as a coach. India won the Bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in Hockey to end his career as a player. Dravid won the only major trophy in his career as a coach, as India won the T20 World Cup in 2024.

Will PR Sreejesh be India's coach?

Dravid's prime began when India had a bad phase in 2000 due to the match-fixing allegations. Sreejesh's second prime as a goalkeeper started around 2018 when India did not have any sponsors. It was with the help of the then Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik that India got the backing at the highest level. Since then, India has won two medals at the Olympics in Hockey.

Dravid took up coaching after his Cricketing career. After he retired from the IPL in 2013, the star player became the mentor of Rajasthan Royals and became a coach of different teams. PR Sreejesh has expressed his wish to become a coach. In the upcoming days, there is a good chance of him being the guide of the Indian team with his coaching stint.