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Cricket PlayersDravid breaks silence on KL Rahul's poor run of form in T20 World Cup, place in India's XI as opener for Bangladesh game
In three innings, Rahul has managed only 22 runs in 34 balls with just a boundary and a six. Rather than showing intent and aggression from ball one, Rahul has looked more cautious in his approach and has erred on his footwork as well.
Three matches into the T20 World Cup for India and the team have registered two wins and a loss to stand on the brink of making the semis after missing out on the spot last year in the UAE. However, India do have their share of concerns as the tournament progresses, the most crucial of them pertains to opening batter KL Rahul, who has been struggling to score runs in the tournament, leading to a barrage of criticisms which also includes question over his spot in the playing XI. Ahead of the crucial match against Bangladesh, head coach Rahul Dravid gave his verdict on Rahul's form and place in the team.
In three innings, Rahul has managed only 22 runs in 34 balls with just a boundary and a six. Rather than showing intent and aggression from ball one, Rahul has looked more cautious in his approach and has erred on his footwork as well.
The poor run of form has led to many veterans and experts thinking whether India should continue with Rahul as the opener, with few even suggesting that Rishabh Pant could be a good alternative, but Dravid believes that Rahul will be able to bounce back in the next few matches as India aim for a semis qualification.
"I think he is a fantastic player, he has a proven track record. I think he has been batting superbly. These things can happen in T20Is, it has not been that easy for top-order batters. This tournament has been challenging, I think he was brilliant in the practice games against the likes of Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Starc. He got 60 or 70. I am hoping that it all clicks together in the next few games," said Dravid.
"We know his quality and ability, he is very well suited for these conditions. He has got a good all-round game and he has a very good backfoot game which is required in these conditions. We are happy with the way he has been hitting it," he added.
When asked on the conversations he has had with Rahul, the former cricketer said, "We have a lot of conversations with players, it is hard to reveal exact details. Rest assured, both in words and in action, over the last year, he knows he has our support. There has been a lot of clarity on what our side is going to be in this tournament and we have not wavered from that. We play a lot of cricket, you might see different players playing in different situations."
"There have been injuries and including him, he has had phases where he has been injured. I think it has been great with captain Rohit Sharma that he has shown faith and belief in players," he added.
Dravid also made a statement on the growing outside noise on Rahul's place in the team.
"We do not focus on what is being said on the outside. We have certain ideas in mind and we have belief in players. We understand people will go through ups and downs. We understand the nature of Indian cricket. Everyone has our backing and they are here, because we know they have quality," he said.
"In these conditions, we can afford him a little bit of time. As I said, we completely back him, we have no concerns. We know that when he gets going and I have seen that Australia a couple of weeks back against a top-quality attack, I know the impact he can make. Me and Rohit have no doubt in our minds on who will open the batting," he added.
