Team India is trying different players in the series against the West Indies because they are considering the World Cup 2023 and Asia Cup 2023 as part of a larger vision, according to Rahul Dravid. The coach also stated that playing Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma in every match won’t give Team India answers to their queries.
In the second ODI encounter on Sunday in Barbados, India was defeated by the West Indies by six wickets.
Rahul Dravid explained to the media that they are testing players as backup because so many players are injured.
“This was our last chance to be able to try out our players; we have got few of our players who are injured, who are in the NCA. You know, with months to go for the world cup or Asia cup, we are kind of running out of time in a lot of ways, and we are hopeful that some of him will be at least fit for the Asia Cup and the World Cup. But we cannot take our chances as we have to try out other people, so that in a worst case scenario they have game time behind them,” Rahul Dravid said.
“We will always look into the bigger picture and we cannot think about every single game and series.”
“In the series like this, with only two-three matches to go before the world cup and Asia cup, playing Virat and Rohit would not have given us answers,” the former Indian player added.
Also Read: Sanju Samson fails in rare World Cup 2023 audition on ‘landmine’ Barbados
Rahul Dravid doesn’t care!
Rahul Dravid responded that they don’t care about other people’s opinions and want to give new players opportunities when asked about the criticism the Indian team had received regarding their Playing XI selection.
“We are not too worried about others opinions, these are the talented boys from our country, they all have performed and come here. It is up to them to take the opportunity when they are given the opportunity. Team was little disappointed toward, we knew it was a tricky wicket and not an easy wicket to bat on but we needed to somehow get to 230-240 that could have been a very good score. We lost wickets in the middle and were 50-60 run short,” he added.
Rahul Dravid said that SuryaKumar Yadav has much to learn in the ODI format, but they are open to giving him opportunities in the team.
“SuryaKumar Yadav is a really good player, there is no doubt about it, his performance has shown that. Unfortunately, I think he would also be the first one to admit that his ODI have not been up to his own high-standards that he has set in T20s. He is also learning one-day cricket. He is a good player, and we want to give him as many opportunity as we can and then it is up to him to take those opportunities,” Dravid added.
“I think Ishan Kishan has done really well, again, he is taking the opportunities when he has been given a chance, and that is what we want from young players.”
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