DUBAI: Scotland skipper Kyle Coetzer hopes to engineer a World Cup upset of India on Friday, fired up by memories of playing alongside honorary Scotsman Rahul Dravid, the new coach of the Asian giants.
Batting legend Dravid, who will officially take over as India coach from Ravi Shastri at the end of the T20 World Cup, played for the Scottish Saltires in the English one-day tournament in 2003.
Hired as a marquee overseas player, Dravid and Coetzer, then a fresh-faced 19-year-old taking his first steps in the sport, were teammates.
One of their first games together was at Northampton. Dravid made a fluid 114; Coetzer was run out first ball.
"We were involved in a run out, and I was the person who was run out and he wasn't," said Coetzer on Thursday.
"I think that was fair enough considering that he was the mainstay of the Scotland team then and making sure that he performed well and scored runs.
"So I remember the day pretty clearly. I got a clear 'no' and got sent back."
Eighteen years later, Coetzer has only fond memories of his time playing with Dravid who scored 13,288 runs in 164 Tests, second only to the legendary Sachin Tendulkar for India.
Dravid's brief three-month deal with Scotland saw him make 600 runs at an average of over 66 in 11 games.
However, the Scots managed just one win that season.
"He's a very humble person, someone who's so very respectful and speaks so highly and so well to all the players. He's a fine individual," said Coetzer.
Scotland have lost all three of their Super 12 games at the T20 World Cup.
However, they pushed New Zealand close in a 16-run defeat on Wednesday when chasing an imposing 173-run target.
They also defeated Test-playing Bangladesh in the qualifying round to make the second stage and crucially book a guaranteed spot in the 2022 tournament in Australia.
"I think coming up against a side like India just throws things to a new level," added Coetzer.
"The boys are really looking forward to it. The fixture is one that's sort of been highlighted a while ago, but we also knew that every one of these games was going to be important."
India go into the match with their fate in the hands of others.
Having lost to Pakistan and New Zealand, they bounced back in style with a 66-run rout of Afghanistan.
After Scotland, India complete their Super 12 round against Namibia.
Even two wins, however, may not be enough.
With Pakistan already safely through to the semi-finals from their group, India are battling Afghanistan and New Zealand for the final spot.
Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took 2-14 against Afghanistan in his first white-ball international for India since 2017 after replacing the injured Varun Chakravarthy.
Ashwin, a veteran of 79 Tests, 111 ODIs and 47 T20 Internationals, said he never lost hope of returning to the team.
"It's very easy to lose motivation, hide behind doors and keep complaining, but that's something that I definitely will not do," said the 35-year-old on Thursday.
"You put three stumps anywhere and ask me to play a game at this stage of my life, I would do it with most happiness."
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