To Have Rahul Dravid In The Support Staff For Overseas Tours Is Great – L. Balaji

Jul 14, 2017 at 1:05 PM

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To Have Rahul Dravid In The Support Staff For Overseas Tours Is Great – L. Balaji

The Story

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has finally ended the hunt for the next head coach after the CAC finalised Ravi Shastri as the in-charge of Team India till the 2019 ICC World Cup. Along with Shastri, batting legend Rahul Dravid has been appointed as the overseas batting consultant while Zaheer Khan has been roped in as the bowling consultant.

The move has been welcomed by the fans, as they feel the combination would help India achieve great things in future. India enjoyed a lengthy home season last year and will now be travelling overseas to play in tougher conditions. Therefore, the appointment of the three-man coaching team looks like a positive move.

Laxmipathy Balaji Backs The New Tenure

Laxmipathy Balaji (Photo Source: Hindustan Times)

Former Indian fast bowler L. Balaji has backed BCCI’s decision to award Shastri a two year’s tenure at the helm of Virat Kohli’s side. He states that a coach needs a good amount of time to execute the plans chalked out for the team and a one-year term, like the one which Kumble served, is insufficient most of the time.

“I think 12 months is a very short period for any coach. They need at least 18-24 months to build a team. The Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) has done the correct thing by appointing the coaching panel till 2019 ICC World Cup,” Balaji told HT on Thursday.

“To put strategies in place a coach needs a 20-24 month window to make any team prosper. The coach needs time to sink into the players’ minds, they need at least two years.”

Dravid’s The Best Option

BCCI has entrusted the responsibility of managing the batting concerns during the overseas tour on Rahul Dravid. This decision was the most cheered one, as the former Karnataka star possesses one of the best overseas records as the Test cricketer.

“Rahul knows what all needs to be done to succeed at that level. So to have him as part of your support staff is great for the side as most tours are very long. You need to be technically sound for longer periods and have the mental ability to keep scoring runs consistently which Rahul did during his career.”

‘Bench Strength Is Strong’

Balaji, who played for India from 2002 to 2012, has now moved from playing to coaching. The right-arm fast bowler is currently the bowling coach of Tamil Nadu’s Ranji Trophy team and replaced Wasim Akram in the same role for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

He feels that the bench strength India possesses is far better than most of the teams at the moment. He also commended the likes of Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for staying fit despite all the heavy workload in recent years.

“Our bench strength is really good. We have produced some really fit guys. Umesh Yadav has been playing non-stop cricket without injuring himself, despite bowling fast, which is a great sign.

“Bhuvneshwar Kumar has also been really impressive. The fitness and ability of today’s bowlers are very good and we have strong, skilful bowlers,” Balaji, who has played eight Tests and 30 ODIs, said.

He also showed belief in India’s most promising fast bowler – Jasprit Bumrah. Balaji has asserted that the young fast bowler will become a Test player soon.

“I am sure Jasprit will play Tests in future. His ability, control of the ball is very good and has good variation too. Our lot – me, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar had a lot of variation which I see in these guys like Umesh Yadav, Mohd. Shami and Bumrah. For seam bowling you need a different kind of skill set,” added Balaji, who has also played 5 T20Is.

 

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