Uncapped players Padikkal, Rana and Sakariya: Fortunate to have Dravid as coach

India's possible debutants Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Rana and Chetan Sakariya hailed head coach Rahul Dravid's "calm and humble" nature ahead of their series against Sri Lanka.

India have sent a second-string side on the Sri Lanka tour as the main side is in the UK for the five-match Test series against England. With Ravi Shastri in England, National Cricket Academy (NCA) chief Dravid has travelled with the Colombo-bound Team India as their head coach.

Sri Lanka are set to host India in a full-fledged limited-overs series, three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).

"Being from the same school, the first time I actually met him was in one of our sports day events, where I had to present him with a bouquet that is when I spoke to him for the first time. I have always been awestruck by how incredibly calm and gentle a human being he is. To have achieved so much in cricket and to be so down to earth, humble and kind towards everyone is incredible to watch," said Padikkal on Star Sports show Follow The Blues.

Padikkal rose to fame through the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batsman was named the Emerging Player of the Season in 2020.

"To have him (Dravid) as our coach, you couldn't ask for anything more and to have a mentor like him beside you, it's just a great feeling, and hopefully, I can pick up a lot of things from him," the 21-year-old further added.

A total of six uncapped players are a part of the Indian squad for the Sri Lanka series beginning in Colombo on July 18.

"I have heard that Rahul Dravid as a coach is similar to Rahul Dravid as a player. I wish I could bring even one per cent of the patience he has within me; it will be a big achievement for me," Rana, who plays for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, said.

Meanwhile, rookie Saurashtra fast bowler Chetan Sakariya wants to be as determined as Dravid.

"I would want to learn how he was so determined when the opposing teams like Australia and England played dominant cricket. I want to understand how he troubled them and how he could achieve so much with sheer determination. I want to learn and understand the process which goes behind that mindset," said Sakariya, who plays for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the IPL.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson pointed out that these youngsters are lucky to be working so closely with former India captain Dravid.

"Each and every individual in the India A side or the juniors going into the Indian team have been fortunate to go through a person called Rahul Dravid. We are very lucky to learn our cricket from him.

I remember going to the Rajasthan Royals trials one day I batted really well and he came up to me and asked me a question 'can you play for my team?'. So, that was the biggest moment of my life, and I can never forget that. That shows how great a human being he is, and I really enjoy his company," said Samson.