Highly impressed with India's strong bench strength, former Pakistan wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal reckons Indian cricket is so well equipped that they can field three international teams at the same time, each of them being tough to beat. The Indian team will be playing six Tests in England from June to August, whereas another side will be travelling to Sri Lanka to play three ODIs and three T20Is in July, which reflects the depth India have in terms of the quality of players.
Akmal explains this has been made possible due to India paying a lot of attention to its grass-root level of cricket, for which he lauded former captain Rahul Dravid for his role in shaping the careers of so many young and talented players.
"Full credit to India's mindset. Two teams will be playing at a time soon, one in England and one in Sri Lanka. Their cricket culture is so strong that they can field three international teams at the same time. This is because they have made no compromises at the grassroot level," Akmal said on his YouTube channel.
"Rahul Dravid has been working with the BCCI for seven-eight years I think, and look where he has taken Indian cricket. Dravid has readied players for international cricket at the grassroot level. Then, in the Indian team, Ravi Shastri has guided them really well as head coach."
{{/usCountry}}"Rahul Dravid has been working with the BCCI for seven-eight years I think, and look where he has taken Indian cricket. Dravid has readied players for international cricket at the grassroot level. Then, in the Indian team, Ravi Shastri has guided them really well as head coach."
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Akmal can't help but marvel at the number of options there are to captain the team and feels that even if India were to send a 'C' team to Sri Lanka, it would emerge victorious. The Lankans are coming off a 1-2 ODI series defeat against Bangladesh in Dhaka and the Men in Blue have a strong chance to add to their misery.
"As captain, first MS Dhoni and now Virat Kohli have carried the team brilliantly. In between, when Kohli was resting, Rohit Sharma took over. Look at the captaincy options they have. If Rohit is injured, then they have KL Rahul. They are not affected even if big players are unavailable," Akmal added.
"Even if India sends a C team to Sri Lanka they will win. The Lankans recently lost to Bangladesh."