Team India’s head coach Rahul Dravid has a message for Team India’s non-performers in the just-concluded ODI series in South Africa, where the Proteas hammered them 3-0. They would be given a consistent run in the XI, but at the same time, they are expected to deliver for the team.
Rahul Dravid was honest in his assessment of the series loss admitting that the team lacked balance due to injuries to certain players. While Dravid didn’t single out missing players, he was certainly talking about the likes of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja who bat at six and seven lending balance to the side. But in this series, India’s middle-order was a huge concern and to add to it, there was no solid finisher as well.
“This series has been a good eye-opener for us,” coach Rahul Dravid said of his first ODI assignment. “We certainly could do better with the batting in the middle overs. It is an opportunity to reflect and learn. The team has not played a lot of one-day cricket since the last World Cup. We need to look to keep improving. ” Dravid said.
Dravid agreed that someone like Shreyas needs to put his hand up and perform considering the immense competition for slots in the middle order. “Whether you bat at Nos. 4, 5 or 6, you’ve got to know what the team’s requirements are. Shreyas has gone in pretty early in all three games and he has had enough time out there in the middle,”.
“We know guys have done well and we would like to back them as much as possible. Sometimes, they will have good tours and sometimes, it won’t be possible. That’s just the way it is. Obviously, there tends to be a lot of competition with people pushing for places and it’s not easy in that kind of a situation,” Dravid added.
