How KL Rahul and Venkatesh Iyer aren’t seen as top-order batsmen were some of the topics Rahul Dravid was asked about during the Q&A session on Wednesday.
With all-rounders, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja unable to play, India’s head coach Rahul Dravid had no qualms in admitting that the ODI roster was lacking balance. A number of issues came up at Dravid’s post-ODI press conference, including India’s dismal showing in middle overs, KL Rahul’s fledgling captaincy, and whether or not Venkatesh Iyer is considered a top-order batsman.
“Yeah, we’ve got a handle on the design. A significant portion of your team’s design is dependant on their balance,” Dravid said when asked if India’s 50-over cricket team needed to reassess its template.
As far as I’m concerned, some of the guys that help us balance out the squad and provide us with those all-around options at Nos. 6, 7, and 8 are probably not here and available for selection,” Dravid said, clearly referring to the absence of Pandya, who is regaining his fitness, and Jadeja, who is recovering from a knee injury.
There is a distinct lack of depth in the team, and Dravid believes that when Hardik and Jadeja return, the team will be able to play in a new way.
In my opinion, KL Rahul did a respectable job, but captaincy is all about how well your team executes its skills.
With the team Dravid had to work with, he wanted people to understand that his leadership abilities could only be as good as they were given the circumstances.
A work well done, in my opinion. Being on the wrong side of a decision is difficult. Captain: “It’s just beginning for him,” he added. Captaincy is all on how well your guys perform on the field, and how good a team you have….” We were short in one-day internationals, but I thought he performed a good job as a captain, someone who is developing and will continue to improve.” Batting better in the middle overs is needed.
‘I’m working on Venkatesh, but I’m keeping a lookout for Hardik’s comeback.’
If Venkatesh Iyer wants to play white-ball cricket for India, Dravid made it plain that he would have to fit into the middle order.
The Indian top-order is all but set, according to head coach Virat Kohli, thanks to Venkatesh, who made an impressive debut for KKR in the IPL and opened the batting for them.
Venkatesh Iyer’s development as a sixth bowling option is part of the plan.” We’ll have a lot more alternatives if Venkatesh or Hardik can return, and we have the option of someone like a Jadeja, who can bat at No. 6 at times when he returns,” Dravid indicated.
To Venkatesh’s credit, he made it crystal clear what he was expected to do on the squad.
The sixth bowler in a team may be excused from bowling, which is possible. He knows that while he batted at the top of the order for KKR, we’re searching for someone who can be our sixth bowling option now that we have so many choices.
When someone like Rohit returns, there aren’t many free spots in positions one, two, or three. “…and that was the kind of role we had for him over here.”
However, we are unable to give a certain time limit for when we will know the core.
It was an “eye-opener” for Dravid, but he believes that the more One Day Internationals they play leading up to the 2023 World Cup, the better notion they will have of both their combination and strategy. Dravid
In spite of the fact that the details are still forming, we already know where we are headed. “Don’t think there is a specific date or time range,” he said. At some point in the future, he predicts, “we’ll already know, that we’ll have a reasonable concept of what kinds of responsibilities we already expect from people, and much of that has already been transmitted to them.”
It’s hard to set a timeline on the process of fine-tuning a broad design and template that’s already in place, according to Dravid.
