Indian team is leading the four-test match series by 2-0 against Australia. Meanwhile, former Indian fielding coach R Sridhar feels that the current duo in the form of Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid have done well so far. He is hopeful that the duo won’t repeat the mistakes committed by former Indian skipper Virat Kohli and ex-head coach Ravi Shastri during their tenure.
Sridhar said India had a golden chance to win the ODI World Cup in 2019 but Multiple factors ended it-
“Many of the decisions we took didn’t yield the desired result, though the biggest mistake was something that came about despite the lack of time pressure. I am referring, of course, to the No. 4 position for the 2019 World Cup, although we had four full years from 2015 to identify and get someone settled at that pivotal spot. No. 4 is such a crucial position in the batting order.
“He is expected to be the kind of player who takes the baton from the openers, from the top three, it on to the finishers. You need to have someone who passes can strike at 80-90 per 100 balls for the most part and finishes his innings with a strike rate of 100. It’s an acquired skill; it doesn’t come naturally to everyone. Unfortunately, we didn’t give anyone a chance to settle down, fail and learn,” said the former first-class cricketer.
In the last few years majorly under Kohli and Rohit, Men in Blue has proved itself a strong unit in overseas conditions, winning two Test series Down Under in 2018/19 and 2020/21. But the major missing is the ICC trophy, team India last won the major international trophy in 2013, MS Dhoni-led side lifted the ICC Champions Trophy in England.
In ICC ODI World Cup 2019, India topped the group stages with seven wins out of nine matches, but they were knocked out of the semifinal by New Zealand, the Black Caps won the game by 18 runs against Virat Kohli-led India.
“Nothing was spoken about the No. 4 position; it was all but taken for granted. That is just a very poor look, with the benefit of hindsight. We missed a major trick and that did us in the end as far as the tournament was concerned. Except for Ambati Rayudu, no one played more than seven games in that slot.
“At home against Sri Lanka in December 2018, MS and Dinesh Karthik batted at two-down; when we went to South Africa in early January, Ajinkya Rahane batted there for the entire series. In England that summer, it was KL Rahul. I can see where we messed up,” he added.
“I agree that was out of character for a support group which got a lot of other things right. I mean, we are talking about Ravi, Sanjay, Arun, Virat and myself it was a shocker from us. We were unsuccessful in giving anyone the confidence to grow into that position, and it was no surprise that when it mattered the most, we were found wanting.
“Perhaps we got carried away by the fact that we had a gun top-three-Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli — and two exceptional finishers in MS and Hardik, and therefore overlooked the significance of No. 4. When push came to shove, we couldn’t respond. I know it’s not my place to say so, but there is a lesson in it for think tanks going forward. I can say with reasonable confidence that I don’t see Rohit and Rahul Dravid making the same mistake,” concluded Sridhar.
The passion from Rahul Dravid after India successfully retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy. pic.twitter.com/pejnrqPBk4
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) February 19, 2023
The 34-year-old Sharma became the test captain of the India team in February 2022, after Virat stepped down from the position. While Dravid took the position of head coach in November 2021 after BCCI announced him as Shastri’s successor for the Asian giants.
Team India will now take on the Australian side for the third test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy at Indore on 1st March.