India head coach Rahul Dravid said Monday that his squad is not under pressure heading into the World Test Championship final against Australia despite not winning an ICC trophy in 10 years.
The former India captain said it would be good to win the trophy after two years of hard effort. India lost the 2021 WTC final to New Zealand. No way. We’re not pressured to win an ICC trophy. Yes, please. An ICC title would be fantastic. This is the result of two years of labor.
“Success brings you here. So you may use that to assess your position. Winning series in Australia, drawing series here, and being competitive worldwide for the previous five or six years.
I don’t think having an ICC trophy changes such things. Dravid agreed.
“Rahane shouldn’t view this as a one-off game.”
Ajinkya Rahane’s first Test in 18 months might end his career. Dravid advised the veteran hitter.
First, he’s welcome. Due to injuries, he may have returned to the squad. His return is great.
He has a lot of abroad experience and proven performance. He’s played great innings for us in England.
He adds great slip catching to the team. He also adds his personality, which is crucial. He’s made the team successful. I don’t want him to treat this as a one-off.” Dravid suggested the 82-Test veteran may play many more five-day games for India.
“Sometimes you are dropped from teams and make a comeback and you may play as long as you’re playing good and performing. One match isn’t a rule. He gives a great performance.
Even after injuries, you never know what may happen. Again, this match isn’t everything. “This match is important, but there’s a lot of cricket to be played later,” he remarked.
‘Pujara’s suggestion was helpful’
Cheteshwar Pujara has scored lots of runs in English county cricket. He scored runs for Sussex as his IPL colleagues played.
We’ve talked to Pujee about captaincy, batting, and Sussex leadership. He also understands many of the county bowlers he’s played with’s techniques and strategies.
We’ve had some chats with him about it, and we’ll see how we can include some of that. Doesn’t alter game fundamentals. Dravid claimed they never change.
In June, the Oval hosts its first Test, which may not be as batting-friendly as later in the English summer. Dravid isn’t overthinking it.
“We simply have to adapt to the situation and how it plays out in the middle. Hopefully we have the resources and skills to handle anything comes our way.”
Want more Test teams
With few nations devoted to Test cricket, franchise cricket threatens the five-day game. Dravid prefers conventional format.
“I really hope that, because of things like the World Test Championship when you have some context to a lot of them, to a lot of the bilateral games, honestly, not that they don’t have context in itself.
“I mean, anytime you play for your country, play against someone else, there’s always context, there’s always – you always want to win those series. I think it will inspire more sides to play more Test cricket.
“I realize it’s tough and hard to go into depth at a news conference, and there are numerous reasons why that is probably not occurring, both in terms of time and dollars.
“But certainly, we’d like to see a lot more Test cricket – personally at least, I’d like to see more Test cricket being played,” he continued.