Virat Kohli’s rediscovering his batting mojo with the much-awaited 71st international hundred comes as a big positive for the Indian cricket team. However, their exit from the Asia Cup 2022 has raised several questions about finding the right combination before the ICC T20 World Cup which gets underway next month in Australia.
After winning both group stage games, India lost to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Super 4, leaving their chances to qualify for the finals hanging by a thread. The men in blue were eventually knocked out as Pakistan defeated Afghanistan by 1 wicket.
The Indian team management has been trying out various combinations in its batting and bowling for months now. The coach and the skipper have already clarified that they are navigating every option possible before naming a group of 15 players for the T20 World Cup. But several cricket pundits feel that the experiments have not yielded desired results on most occasions.
Former India selector Saba Karim has stated that it’s high time for coach Rahul Dravid to come up with a balanced side that can excel in Australia.
“Well even Rahul Dravid is aware that the honeymoon period is over, and he is trying his best to be an alchemist but so far, such metals haven’t been converted into the core. One would expect him to do that. This is crunch time for Rahul Dravid," said Saba Karim on Sports 18’s show ‘Sports Over The Top.
The former wicketkeeper-batter recalled the Test losses in South Africa and Edgbaston, stating that the defeats reflected a scratchy start to Dravid’s tenure.
“If given an option, Rahul Dravid would love to have those Test series wins in South Africa and the last Test match in England. He would love to swap that with so many bilateral wins that India has got under his belt. But that’s the nature of the challenges which Rahul Dravid has to face," said Karim.
“See Rahul is sensible and intelligent enough to understand that the only way he can define a successful tenure of his coaching career is if India – number one, wins ICC events and number two it starts to win Test series in SENA countries. I’m not talking about Test wins.
“Test wins even while Rahul Dravid was playing, India has done that. But more importantly, when India starts to win in SENA countries, the Test series, that’s when Rahul Dravid will be very happy with team India’s performance," he added.
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