'Always been interested in working with young players' - Dravid

Rahul Dravid, who has agreed to coach the India Under-19 and A teams, has said that he has always been interested in working with the next generation of cricketers. Dravid added that he did not see the position as a "stepping stone" for the coaching job of the senior national team.

"I think it is really exciting because it has been an area I have always been interested in," Dravid told ESPNcricinfo. "I feel it is a very important stage of development of a lot of cricketers, having been through myself, and I am just hoping that having experienced being on A tours and being with an Indian Under-19 team, I will probably be able to help some of these young cricketers on their journey.

"I don't see this as any stepping stone, I just see this as an opportunity to work with young players over the next few months, six weeks of an A tour and may be six or seven weeks, with the Under-19 team. This is all I see it as.

"More than anything this is something that really interests me, working hands on with young talent and obviously the fact that it is not as encompassing as say a national coach's job is. It makes it a really good fit for me."

Dravid said he would draw assistance from the experience of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, who constitute the advisory committee of the BCCI.

"I have put forward what I think might be the best structure to help the A team and the Under-19 team and in the end help the player and give them the best environment and best opportunity that gives them the best chance to be able to put in performances that help their future, their careers and bring on the next generation of young Indian cricketers.

"(Tendulkar, Ganguly and Laxman) are going to be around. We are definitely going to dip into their vast knowledge and experiences at various stages."

Dravid also hoped to work with Ravi Shastri, who will continue as India's team director for the Bangladesh tour, and other support staff to ensure a steady supply of talent to the national team.

"I hope to be able to work closely with Ravi [Shastri], his support staff and the national selectors and just to find out from them what they see as the next generation of cricketers coming through and what they see as kind of cricketers they would want coming through to help the Indian team get stronger because at the end of the day a lot of this is really about helping the Indian team get better. A lot of this is about working with people, domestic and Ranji Trophy coaches to help build the next generation of good young Indian cricketers."