Players will fight tooth & nail to be there, says Dravid on cricket’s LA Olympic debut

The former Team India coach hoped that India would win both the men's and women's gold medals at the LA Games

Paris: An ardent supporter of cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics, former India head coach and batting legend Rahul Dravid says the “serious dressing room conversations” that he has heard indicate that players are going to “fight tooth and nail” to be there at the world’s biggest sporting event.

Dravid was in the French capital on Sunday to attend a panel discussion on ‘Cricket at the Olympics: Dawn of a New Era’, celebrating the sport’s inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Games, at the recently inaugurated India House.

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“I’ve already heard a few conversations in the dressing room. People are talking about the 2026 T20 World Cup, there is an ODI World Cup in 2027, and you hear people saying there is the Olympics in 2028,” Dravid, who also caught up on some tennis action at the Games before coming for the event, said during the discussion.

“People are going to want to win that gold medal, stand on the podium, and be a part of the Games Village, a great sporting event, and interact with so many athletes. As you get closer, I have no doubt that teams will be preparing and checking out facilities. They will take this seriously, and players will fight tooth and nail to be out there,” he added.

The Test great had ICC CEO Geoff Allardice for company during the discussion at India House here. “You grow up watching the Olympics, seeing Carl Lewis winning the gold medal, watching the great athletes perform. You always want to be part of great events like this. The environment, the energy — it’s a dream come true.”

Dravid hoped that India would win both the men’s and women’s gold medals at the LA Games. “The dream for me to have a fantastic cricket tournament, hopefully Indian men and women winning the gold which would be nice,” he said.

“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to play, but I will make every effort to be in LA in some capacity or another. If not anything else, I will try to get a media job,” joked Dravid, who ended his tenure as India head coach after the recent T20 World Cup triumph in the West Indies.