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Cricket News: Rahul Dravid says India looking at bigger picture ahead of ODI WC | Rahul Dravid defends India’s team selections

Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has defended the decision to bring about multiple changes in the playing XI in the current One Day International (ODI) series against West Indies.

The Men in Blue rested skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to give chances to Sanju Samson and Axar Patel in the second ODI in Barbados on Saturday. The visitors faced a shocking setback as the Shai Hope-led side cruised to a six-wicket victory after bowling the Indian side out for 181.

Dravid, however, is looking at the bigger picture at this moment. He claimed that this series is the last opportunity for the team to test out some players considering that first-team regulars like Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah are undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru currently.

“This (series) was our last chance to try out some of our players. We have a few players injured, at the NCA. With a month to go for the Asia Cup, we’re running out of time in a lot of ways. We’re hopeful that some of them will be fit for the Asia Cup and the World Cup,’ Dravid said after the loss in the second ODI on Saturday.

He added, “We can’t take those chances. We’ve to try out other players and give some chances, so that in a worst-case scenario they have some game time behind them.”

Rahul Dravid says India are seeking answers

Dravid revealed that the management is seeking answers to critical questions. He mentioned that playing Rohit and Kohli would not have given them those solutions in this series. Even in the first ODI, Rohit came out to bat at No. 7 whereas Kohli didn’t bat at all as India navigated a chase of 115 runs in Barbados. By the looks of it, India will continue with the same team combination in the series decider in Trinidad and Tobago.

“It gives us some time to make decisions on players. We just felt that, in a series like this, with just two-three matches to go before the Asia Cup, playing Virat and Rohit would not have given us too many answers. With the injuries we have at the NCA and some uncertainty around them, we wanted to give the other boys some chance. So that, if required, they can play,” Dravid explained.

India’s next ODI assignment after this series will be in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, which begins on August 30. Post that, Rohit’s men will host Australia for a three-match bilateral series before kicking off their World Cup campaign on October 9 against Australia in Chennai.