The Indian team needed a reset post the disastrous exit in the T20 World Cup 2021. Ravi Shastri, the former head coach, and the other supporting staff had already decided to move on post the tournament. Virat Kohli too moved away from being the all-format captain. India had new people in power. Here in this article, we talk about the Decisions by Rahul Dravid as India’s head coach has taken.
Rohit Sharma was handed over the all-format captaincy while Rahul Dravid took over as the head coach. Dravid was almost coaxed into taking over the role. He hasn’t shied away from taking a few brave decisions.
We look at 4 such surprising taken Decisions by Rahul Dravid as India’s head coach:
#4 The opportunities presented in middle-order
It has been India’s biggest Achilles heel in the past ICC tournaments. India’s middle-order batters haven’t been able to rescue the team once the top-order was dismissed cheaply. Rahul Dravid at the helm seems to have taken notice of this problem. He has presented many players with varying roles in the middle order to see if they have what it takes in a big game.
The team has stressed heavily on players taking on the game in the middle overs. Players like Deepak Hooda and Suryakumar Yadav have risen to the occasion. Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja have played striking cameos. It is an interesting race for a few spots, Dravid will be looking at Asia Cup closely to finalise the personnel.
#3 Shikhar Dhawan as ODI captain on the Windies tour
He is one of India’s central players in the ODI format. There is no cricketer as underrated as Shikhar Dhawan in the ODIs. The southpaw has had a startling career. He is not been part of the other two formats for quite some time now. But the Indian team has shown immense faith in the veteran.
Rahul Dravid who chipped in as head coach for the Sri Lanka tour last year had Dhawan as the leader. The duo has had a fine working relationship. It might boil down to this that Dhawan was appointed as the ODI captain for the West Indies tour. The young talent depth in Indian cricket is not restricting Dravid from persisting with him.
#2 The opening conundrum
India was shaken early in the previous T20 World Cup. The thought process was clearly muddled when it came to opening combinations. Dravid was keen to address this issue. Ishan Kishan was looked at as a backup opener soon after the T20 World Cup 2021. He was given a fair run at the top but Kishan clearly couldn’t do enough justice against quality pace.
The likes of Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav have been opportunities at the top. Both these players are known to go hard against spin right from ball one. They make interesting choices as openers. Pant being the left-hander gives the side an added advantage. It will be interesting to see what Dravid has in mind ahead of the mega event.
#1 The captaincy musical chairs
There was a clear understanding in the Kohli-Shastri era that Kohli was the leader of the pack. Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane occasionally stepped in to captain the side. But the moment Dravid has taken over, there has been plenty of players who have gone on to lead the side.
Dravid’s tenure as full-time head coach has already seen 8 captains in 10 months. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Shikhar Dhawan have all gone on to lead the side.
