IND VS AUS: Rahul Dravid, the head coach of Team India, referred to MS Dhoni when discussing the need for wicket-keeper hitters. Adding that, He said days of pure Glove-men may be long past in the present day and age.
In the Indian team, the battle for the position of wicket-keeper across all formats is fierce, with up to five players vying for the position. The Indian team, as per Dravid, is fortunate in that aspect because of all of the potential wicketkeepers and batsmen.
The famous batting lineup from yore was accommodated by Rahul Dravid. He remarked, “There is no doubt that we are always looking for a wicketkeeper-batsman. Unfortunately, I believe that since MS Dhoni, the days of specialist wicketkeepers in white-ball cricket have departed”
“We are fortunate in that all of the players are in contention. Whether it is Ishan Kishan or KS Bharat, are both good batsmen who have performed well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Bharat has not played, but Ishan has clearly performed well as a batsman,” Rahul Dravid added.
IND VS AUS: “You should be able to bat and contribute significantly”, Rahul Dravid
When discussing the addition of Jitesh Sharma to the T20 team, Rahul Dravid noted that there are also players like KL Rahul and Sanju Samson who are also excellent batters in the mix.
“Rahul and Samson are present, but Rishabh is injured. All of these players are wicketkeeper-batsmen. Nowadays, I believe you must be a wicketkeeper-batsman. You should be able to bat and contribute significantly”
“We’ve also added Jitesh Sharma to the T20 squad because of his ability to bat and score runs at a high rate. He demonstrated the same in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the IPL. So certainly, it’s a given now that every side needs a wicketkeeper-batsman,” Rahul Dravid remarked.
Given that KL Rahul won’t be available for the New Zealand ODIs, Ishan Kishan and KS Bharat are expected to see more playing time at the highest level. And also Rishabh Pant will be out for a significant amount of time.
“Not by us. Not at all, never by us!,” Dravid
IND VS AUS: Virat Kohli returned to top form in the shortest format, but the batsman icon has not been called up to the Indian squad for the T20I series against New Zealand.
At the traditional pre-press conference before the 3rd ODI against New Zealand, India’s head coach Dravid was briefly asked about Kohli’s future with Team India.
“Until last year, Virat position in T20 team was in question,” said a reporter. He was already in the middle of his query when Dravid stepped in and amazed people around with his response. “Not by us. Not at all, never by us!” Dravid said as laughter erupted throughout the press room. The former Indian skipper and batting legend explained why Kohli and Rohit were not selected in T20Is.
“There are certain priorities that we have to certain white ball tournaments at certain times. There are white ball tournaments, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the World Test Championship – and the priority is for World Cup then comes those six (ODI) games” Dravid said.
