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‘Everyone is challenging for places’: Dravid on team selection after youngsters ‘step up’ in absence of seniors
Rahul Dravid praised the boys for the superb show and patted the newcomers, who stepped up to the occasion in the absence of the senior players.
Rahul Dravid's stint as Team India head coach started with consecutive series wins both in the white-ball and red-ball format. After a dismal show in the T20 World Cup, where India failed to make the final four cut, the team first completed a clean sweep over New Zealand in the T20Is and on Monday morning went on to secure a resounding 372-run win in the second and final Test to clinch the series.
Dravid, who took over as team's head coach after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup, praised the boys for the superb show and patted the newcomers, who stepped up to the occasion in the absence of the senior players.
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“Good to finish the Test series on a winning note, came very close in Kanpur, but couldn't take that last wicket. Credit to the team, they have pulled themselves back from tough situations, and were a bit disappointed at not finishing it off in Kanpur.”
“Good to see the boys step up and take their opportunities, we were missing a few seniors, but the youngsters have taken their chances. Jayant (Yadav) found it difficult yesterday, but came up well this morning,” he said after India's win in the Mumbai Test.
“A lot of these guys don't get the opportunity to play a lot (of Test cricket), but it's nice to see them do well, especially the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Mayank Agarwal, Axar Patel and Jayant. That gives us a lot of choices opening up when the seniors do return,” he added.
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When asked about India's decision to not enforce the follow-on despite securing a 263-run lead in the first innings, Dravid explained it was a learning opportunity for the youngsters to bat in challenging conditions.
“We didn't need to think about it (about a possible declaration), we had a lot of time and we knew we could bowl them out.”
“Also, a lot of youngsters needed the chance to bat in challenging conditions - to play on red-soil wickets, with this kind of bounce, it'll only help them grow as players, especially when they travel and play in different conditions. We knew we had enough time to bowl them out once again,” he said.
Meanwhile, the coach also spoke about the team selection with the South Africa approaching and the seniors likely to make a return to the national side.
Dravid stated that everyone is “challenging for places” in the team, which is a good thing considering the amount of cricket India will play in the upcoming months.
“It's a good situation to be in (on team selection), we had some injuries in the lead-up to this game, that's something which will challenge us. The boys are playing a lot of cricket, in different formats, and we need to ensure the work load on them. But everyone is challenging for places, that's good to see with the amount of cricket coming up. But it is a good headache to have,” he concluded.
India are scheduled to travel to South Africa, where they will play three Tests and the same number of ODIs, starting from December 26.
