Rahul Dravid, the head coach of the Indian cricket team, was happy after India won all three matches against Afghanistan. Some less experienced players performed well, giving the team more choices for the T20 World Cup in June. India played 11 T20 matches after the ODI World Cup last year, and the coaching team got a good look at players like Jitesh Sharma and Shivam Dube while the main players took a break. Dravid was pleased with their efforts.
“We had different players in the team since the last ODI World Cup for various reasons. It’s nice to see that there are some options for the World Cup, and these players have shown their skills,” Dravid said in a press conference after the match.
Dravid’s only concern was that the team didn’t have much time to play together before the World Cup in the West Indies and the USA. The series against Afghanistan was the last T20 assignment for India before the World Cup.
We won’t have much team cricket anymore. We have the IPL, and everyone will be watching closely to see how players perform and which positions we need to fill in the team,” he mentioned.
Shivam Dube was named the Player of the Series for his 124 runs and two wickets against Afghanistan. Dravid was excited to have an all-rounder option like him.
He’s back after a long time, and he has improved a lot. He always had talent, but it’s great to see him perform well in the series. This will boost his confidence, and he’ll have the opportunity to showcase his skills in the IPL again,” Dravid said.
The wicketkeeper position is also under review with multiple choices like Jitesh Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant, who is recovering from an injury. Dravid did not rule out any of them.
“We have quite a few options for wicketkeeping. We’ll see how things unfold over the next few months and make a decision on the best approach,” he stated. Dravid was impressed by captain Rohit Sharma’s decision to give the ball to leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi in the second Super Over against Afghanistan. Bishnoi defended 11 runs, taking two wickets.
“Rohit made a gut call to go with Bishnoi, and it paid off. Bishnoi bowled exceptionally well, and it was a good decision to be more aggressive and go for wickets,” Dravid added.
