Rohit pens heartfelt words for departing 'work wife'

India skipper Rohit Sharma put out an emotional Instagram post for Rahul Dravid who stepped down as head coach following the team's T20 World Cup triumph.

After leaving India's highly-sought-after coaching job following the title-winning campaign in the Caribbean and the USA, Rahul Dravid was hailed as a 'confidant, coach and friend' by skipper Rohit Sharma.

"You are an absolute stalwart of this game but you left all of your accolades and achievements at the door and walked in as our coach and came on a level where we all felt comfortable enough to say just about anything to you," Rohit wrote on the Instagram post.

"That is your gift, your humility and your love for this game even after all this time. I have learnt so much from you and every memory will be cherished."

PHOTO: X

Stating that the T20 World Cup trophy was the 'only thing missing' for Dravid as a coach, Rohit said that the India legend was someone he looked up to.

"This was the only thing missing from your arsenal and I'm so happy that we got to achieve it together.

"Rahul bhai it has been an absolute privilege to get to call you my confidant, my coach and my friend."

The strong rapport between the two even earned Dravid the moniker of 'work wife' from Rohit's wife.

"Since my childhood days I have looked up to you just like billions of others but I was lucky enough to get to work with you this closely. My wife refers to you as my work wife and I'm lucky to get to call you that too."

Rohit, who made his international debut under Dravid's captaincy, built a strong bond with him during the last few years, which saw India reach the final of the last three ICC events (ICC World Test Championship in 2023, ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in 2023 and the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2024).

At the fag end of an impressive three-year stint as head coach, Dravid walked away with the T20 World Cup title with Rohit leading the unit on the field.

Dravid had earlier stated that it was Rohit's phone call that prompted him to continue as the head coach of the side after the loss in the Cricket World Cup final last year against Australia.

"Ro, thank you very much for making that call to me in November and asking [me] to continue," Dravid had said in a video released by BCCI.

India are yet to announce the new head coach who will take over from Dravid.