It’s not that we are experimenting for the sake of experimenting: Rahul Dravid on chatter surrounding Indian middle order lineup | Cricket News
Indian national team coach Rahul Dravid said he was happy to welcome back pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna as well as batter Shreyas Iyer from injury as he fielded questions from the media on Tuesday.
“It’s great to have them back and see them bowling well. Jasprit is someone we have missed a lot in the past two years he hasn’t played much. We will ease him into it slowly. Ireland was a good opportunity to ease him in. Now we have a whole month to build that up before the World Cup. The duo’s return gives us more options in the pace bowling department,” Dravid said talking about the speedsters.
Moving on to Iyer, who was out with a back injury and missed the entire Indian Premier League season, the Indian coach said, “He’s looked good. He has got no issues. It’s been pretty straightforward for him. He has come in and he has played. It’s now about us giving him game time. The things that he has missed is actually games and matches and that’s something we can give him in the Asia Cup and build him up towards the World Cup. In terms of fitness, in terms of everything, he has done very well in this camp. He’s ticked all the boxes. We have got some games in the Asia Cup and against Australia and to give him that opportunity to tick that box too.”
The head coach also delved into the subject of the conundrum over the No.4 spot and all the chatter around it, saying that unfortunately timed injuries to KL Rahul, Iyer and Rishabh Pant had forced the team management to try out other players in the middle-order in recent times and it was not experimenting just for the sake of it.
“This word (experimentation) keeps getting thrown around without being thought through. It’s not that we are experimenting for the sake of experimenting, sometimes there are specific reasons for it. The No 4 and 5 spots are discussed a lot and gives the impression that we didn’t have clarity that who is going to be there. I could have told you 18-19 months ago who the three candidates for the two spots were. It was always between Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. There was not doubt,” Dravid said.Most Read
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“It’s unfortunate that all three had injuries in the space of two months. What are the odds of that happening? All three guys pushing for those two spots, had serious injuries, had to go under the knife. So, you have to react to that, put other people in those positions and see who can do it. Just in case come a World Cup they are not fit. In that situation we tried a few people,” he added.
While Pant is still out of action after suffering multiple injuries in a horrific car accident on the Dehradun-Delhi highway in December last year, Iyer and Rahul hurt their back and thigh in March and May respectively.
Both Iyer and Rahul have recovered and are part of India’s Asia Cup squad. However, Rahul will miss the first two games due to a niggle.
