Kapil�s advice helped me to explore options before opting for India A coach�s job: Dravid

NEW DELHI, July 18: Batting great Rahul Dravid says legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev�s advice helped him to explore options after his retirement before eventually taking up the coaching job of India A and Under-19 sides.

Dravid said he was also �a little fortunate� that at the back end of his career, he was already in a captain-cum-coach role of IPL side Rajasthan Royals.

�After I finished (playing), there were quite a few options and I was not sure what to do. It was Kapil Dev who gave me this advice actually when I was coming to the end of my career,� Dravid told India women�s team coach WV Raman on his Youtube channel �Inside Out�.

�I bumped into him somewhere and he said �Rahul, don�t commit to doing anything straightaway, go out and spend a few years just exploring and doing different things and see what you really like�. I thought it was good advice.�

The former captain said initially he liked doing commentary, but later found �a little disconnect� from the game.

�...the thing that gave me the most satisfaction was really being involved in the game and being connected with the boys. I really liked the coaching side of things and I got sort of involved in that when the opportunity came up to do some coaching with India A and Under-19,� Dravid said.

�I thought it was a good place to start and took it up and I�ve really enjoyed it since. I just feel a lot more satisfying to be involved in the coaching side of things,� said the legendary batsman, who piled up 13288 runs from 164 Tests between 1996 and 2012.

�Especially the developmental side of coaching, whether India A, Under-19 or the NCA. It�s really given me the opportunity to work with a lot of the players without having to worry about the immediate results which I think is a really nice space for me to work in.� � PTI