IND vs NZ LIVE: Rahul Dravid 'not worried' about Rahane's lean patch

IND vs NZ LIVE: Rahul Dravid ‘not worried’ about Rahane- India head coach Rahul Dravid on Monday said that he is not worried about Ajinkya Rahane’s poor form. He put his weight behind the Kanpur Test stand-in skipper to return to form in upcoming opportunities. He also lauded Shreyas Iyer’s dream debut but didn’t disclose anything about India Playing XI for Mumbai Test. Follow India vs New Zealand LIVE updates on InsideSport.IN

IND vs NZ LIVE: Rahul Dravid ‘not worried’ about Rahane’s lean patch, decision to include Shreyas Iyer in playing XI in Mumbai

IND draw NZ: Ashwin, Jadeja & Patel fail to get a wicket in 9 overs as Ajinkya Rahane’s India draw Kanpur Test

“He is a quality player and he has done well for India in the past. He is one of those guys who has quality and experience and it’s a matter of a game when he would like to turn it around and he knows that and we know that,” Rahul Dravid told the media in the virtual post-match press conference.

“Look, we haven’t decided what will be our playing XI and it’s too early. At least, today our focus was on this game and when we go to Mumbai, we will assess the conditions and check people’s fitness. Virat Kohli will join us so we have to discuss with him also and then take a decision,” he added.

Ajinkya Rahane

The 34-year-old is under fire from all verticals owing to his poor show for the last couple of years. He has struck only one century and a couple of fifties in the last 16 Tests. Over the years, his average has witnessed a staggering decline from 51.37 to 39.60.

Ajinkya Rahane in last two years:

2020– 272 runs from 4 Tests @38.86

2021– 407 runs from 12 Tests @20.35

vs NZ in 1st Test– 35 and 4 runs respectively

IND vs NZ LIVE: Rahul Dravid praises Iyer– While Rahane managed just scores of 35 and 4 in the first and second innings, Shreyas Iyer amassed a century and followed it a half-century on his debut. Dravid heaped praise on Shreyas Iyer and said that it was a display of a good Indian cricketing system.

“It is just great to see the young players coming through and performing straight away and we saw that a little bit in the T20 series as well, where one or two players came and made a good account of themselves. It is always nice to see a young player come and do well for India,” said Dravid.

“It’s not only just the reflection of the player but also the good reflection of the Indian system. Really happy for Shreyas, he has worked very hard. It wasn’t easy for him as he hasn’t played first-class cricket for the last 4-5 years,” he added.

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IND vs NZ LIVE: Dravid calls R Aswin phenomenal– Talking about R Ashwin who became India’s third-highest wicket-taker in Tests, Dravid said: “Harbhajan Singh was a terrific bowler and what Ashwin has done is a phenomenal achievement. A match-winner for India, he brought us back in the game in the first session. He is someone who keeps evolving in the game and pleasure to work in the dressing room. It’s phenomenal- what he has achieved”

IND vs NZ 1st Test: Great gesture by Rahul Dravid, donates Green Park’s ground staff Rs 35,000 for preparing sporting pitch

IND vs NZ LIVE: Dravid defends timing of declaration– Rahul Dravid also justified the timing of declaration, saying that 110 overs would have been too much for New Zealand to chase 250+ score.

“We were under pressure in the last half-an-hour as well with the bat. We lost our last three wickets and they were probably right to declare at the right time,” he signed off.

“We probable expect wear and tear on Day 5. There was the only way to get wickets- bowled or lbw. It was expected to be tough at Kanpur. It was even lower and slower on Day 5 which may be due to winter or could be something. There are a quality guy who made a game out of it.”

IND vs NZ LIVE: Dravid praises India’s fighting spirit– Team India head coach Rahul Dravid praised the players for their ‘fighting spirit’ and ‘composure’ they showed in the now-concluded Day 5 of the first Test against New Zealand, here at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. Poor light had a major effect on the match and the head coach also agreed on the same.

“Yeah, we were expecting it. We knew that the light kinda dipped a bit at that point in time, how it has been happening for every day. Not very difficult, the guys were pretty switched on and I thought we showed great composure, great fighting spirit to be able to work very hard in the last session, even on a very unresponsive pitch, so I think the guys did well by taking eight wickets after lunch,” said Rahul Dravid.

IND vs NZ LIVE: Rahul Dravid ‘not worried’ about Rahane’s lean patch, decision to include Shreyas Iyer in playing XI in Mumbai

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