Rahul Dravid’s World Cup team ready without chief selector?
There can hardly be two opinions that coach Dravid is playing a more important role than the selection committee in deciding the future of Team India. And perhaps that is why, despite not being the chief selector, the coach’s statement that he has picked 17-18 players for the upcoming ODI World Cup to be held in the country, regardless of the result of the ODI series against Australia. Shouldn’t surprise.
We have shortlisted around 17-18 players: Rahul Dravid
In fact, Dravid said in Chennai, ‘I think if we look at the future, we are clear about the team and players we want. We have selected around 17-18 players. We have a couple of boys who are recovering from injury and may come into the frame depending on their recovery. However, it remains to be seen how long it takes for him to return. But overall we are all in a good space and we are clear about the kind of team we want. Hopefully, we are able to give maximum opportunities to play for these guys, who have not been able to do well even after getting opportunities till now.
The sun has disappeared, but not set… T20-like fire will rain in ODIs too!
If you are Sanju Samson then you will be disappointed
If your name is Sanju Samson, then this statement of the coach will make you feel disappointed. Going by the recent selections, it looks like Samson is not part of the long-term vision for the ODI World Cup. If your name is Jaspreet Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer or even Suryakumar Yadav, then perhaps you can get a lot of relief from the coach’s statement. Dravid is unfazed by Surya’s duck outing in the first two ODIs.
Dravid seems to bet on Surya
Dravid said, ‘There is nothing much to worry about Suryakumar. He played two excellent first balls in the first two ODIs. One thing about Surya is that he is still learning 50 over cricket. T20 match is different. He has played IPL for almost ten years and a lot of IPL cricket, which is like an international tournament. He has played a lot of high pressure T20 matches, but there is no domestic tournament like this in ODI cricket. You just have to play Vijay Hazare Trophy. He has played a lot of T20 cricket but I think he has not played that much ODI cricket. We just want to give them some time. We have seen his emerging game which is very good for the team.
Great record, yet where is Sanju missing
Fans of Sanju Samson might not agree with coach Dravid’s argument that where a player is getting opportunities despite all the failures to prove himself as KL Rahul gets in Test cricket, a player like Samson gets brilliant Despite the record, he is not getting the opportunities so that he can at least stake his claim for the World Cup.
Why is Rahul Dravid happy?
Dravid also said, ‘There are many combinations in our 15 to 16 players which we want to use and are working on it. The ODI World Cup is a big tournament. Will be played in multiple cities of India and where there are 9 different situations. So you want flexibility in your team, where you can play four fast bowlers at times… three spinners at times. We are looking at several options to achieve this flexibility. I am happy that we have covered all the circumstances.
It is surprising that Dravid is using words like flexibility and options in his statement but does not seem to embrace the possibility of selection of many players.
