Rahul Dravid, the head coach of Team India, stated that we were experimenting with different players to ensure that everyone got playing time. This is part of our effort to get ready for the worst-case scenario. Rahul Dravid explains why Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were left out of the second ODI.
Rohit and Virat Kohli were decided to sit out of the second ODI against the West Indies in order to test some players ahead of the Asia Cup, according to India head coach Rahul Dravid.
Dravid is now trying to avoid making the’mistake’ of tying the ODI series. He stated that India will be preparing at home in October and November of this year for the 2023 World Cup. Avoid making the same mistakes twice by keeping the big picture in mind.
The Indian side, who had previously defeated the West Indies in the Test series, got off to a strong start in the one-day series by winning the opening game by a margin of five wickets. The decision by coach Rahul Dravid to rest the team’s two most experienced players, captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, resulted in a 6-wicket loss to the West Indies in the second One-Day International. referred to it as a phase of the Asia Cup preparations.
Rahul Dravid, the team’s head coach, intended for the players to perform well when given the chance, even if that meant resting seasoned players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and putting winning matches ahead of immediate results. India has fewer than ten games remaining in the ODI World Cup. Australia will be the opponent in the World Cup’s opening match, which will take place in Chennai.
We were trying out different players so that everyone got game time, head coach Rahul Dravid stated in the press conference held following the second ODI. We are trying to get ready for the worst case scenario with this. We can evaluate certain athletes with ease. You are all aware of the playing that Rohit and Virat have been doing.
The West Indies won the ODI series with a six-wicket victory at Bridgetown on Saturday, tying the series at 1-1. “I think we will always look at the bigger picture,” Dravid added. To be honest, we need to think about and make plans for the Asia Cup and World Cup that will follow. We can’t stress about each and every game or series. It would be a mistake if we did.
Only a couple of these games remain until the Asia Cup, according to Rahul Dravid. To be honest, we won’t get many responses, but as you are aware, several of our players are now recovering from injuries at NCA, so their playing status is questionable. We wanted to give some players an opportunity because we wanted them to be prepared to play when needed.
“Time like this gives us an opportunity to make some decisions about the players,” stated the coach in charge. We believed that playing Virat and Rohit in a series like this, with only a few games remaining before the Asia Cup, would not provide us with many answers but instead risk injuries to our players in the NCA. Additionally, because of the uncertainty around them, we wanted to give a few other guys an opportunity so that they could be evaluated if necessary.
He claimed that Surya Kumar Yadav, who serves as India’s T20I vice-captain, is one of the players who has had an opportunity in Iyer’s absence. Surya Kumar, who made headlines for his all-around performance in the shortest format, has not been as successful in the 50-over format as he was in the T20 competition.
