Rahul Dravid isn’t complaining as he had not planned six captains leading Indian teams across formats in a span of eight months but the head coach said it provides an opportunity to create more leaders within the group.
Since Rahul Dravid took over in November after the 2021 T20I World Cup, India has had Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Hardik Pandya (set to lead in Ireland) as national captains due to the COVID-19 related bubble breaks, simultaneous series held in countries, and injury-induced breaks.
Rahul Dravid Points Out That India Got 6 Captains In The Last 8 Months Which Wasn’t Planed But There Have Emerged Opportunities To Create More Leaders
Rahul Dravid had taken over the reins of Team India after the 2021 T20I World Cup in UAE and under his tenure, the Men in Blue defeated New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and West Indies in white-ball series, while the T20I series against South Africa ended in a 2-2 draw, with the final match abandoned due to rain. However, disappointment was on offer when Team India lost the away Test and ODI series against South Africa earlier this year.
“It’s been challenging as well, we have got six captains in the last eight months, which actually wasn’t the plan when I started, but it’s the nature of the number of games we are playing,” Rahul Dravid said before the start of the fifth match.
The ‘Wall’ accepted that the times are such that one has to accept the situation.
“It’s the nature of COVID, so I have had to work with quite a few people. It has been great fun. A lot of other guys have got an opportunity to lead, we have got opportunities to create more leaders in the group,” he looked at the positive side of things.
Virat Kohli also stepped down as India’s T20I captain after the 2021 T20I WC last year and later he was sacked from the ODI captaincy post also as the BCCI wanted a single captain for the white-ball formats. However, after the South Africa Test series, Virat Kohli also relinquished the Test captaincy which made Rohit Sharma the all-format captain of India.
However, due to the jam-packed schedule and injuries to Rohit Sharma, India has used several captains in the last few months including KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. While Hardik Pandya is all set to lead the Men in Blue for the first time in the upcoming T20I series against Ireland.
Rahul Dravid Reckons South Africa Tour Was A Disappointing One
The endeavour has been to get better in every aspect although losing the Test and ODI series on the South Africa tour was disappointing. One of Rahul Dravid’s early assignments was the tour of South Africa. India won the Boxing Day Test in Centurion, but the visitors lost the other two games to lose the series.
After registering an impressive 113-run win in Centurion, India lost the second Test in Johannesburg by seven wickets and went down in Cape Town by the same margin.
“We have constantly strived to get better, we have tried a lot of different people. In the last eight months, touring South Africa was a bit of a disappointment in terms of Test cricket,” he said.
Rahul Dravid is happy with the bowling talent that has emerged thanks to the IPL.
“Our white-ball cricket has been good though, shows the character of the team. It was incredible to see the fast bowling talent we have (during the IPL), especially with a few of the bowlers clocking such speed. A lot of youngsters got an opportunity to showcase their skills, and a lot of them came good, those are really good signs for Indian cricket, exciting times ahead,” he sounded confident.
Shifting the focus to the other formats of the game, the head coach said that Team India has done rather well in ODIs and T20Is. India won 12 consecutive T20Is, a record with Afghanistan and Romania.
India’s winning run started in the 2021 T20 World Cup where they beat Afghanistan, Scotland, and Namibia in successive matches. Then, under Rohit Sharma, India clinched three consecutive series against New Zealand, West Indies, and Sri Lanka – all with a 3-0 margin. They tied the five-match T20I series against Proteas 2-2 after the 5th T20I was abandoned after only 3.3 overs were possible.
Young fast bowlers Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh, who were impressive during the IPL 2022, were picked in the squad for the ongoing series against South Africa. They have been retained for the two T20Is against Ireland as well.