“We are broadening our talent pool as far as possible,” says Rahul Dravid

All successful Indian sides in the past have had one thing in common: despite boasting of match-winners and star cricketers in their playing XI, there was an apparent dearth of strength on their bench.

However, things have changed for the better for the Men in Blue now.

The most remarkable trait about Virat Kohli's world-beating side is the huge pool of up-and-coming talent across the country its privy to, and the subsequent number of backup players that are ready at all times to fill-in for injured first-choice cricketers.

The man behind this enhancing rejuvenation of the senior team is none other than Rahul Dravid, the current head coach of the India-A and India U-19 sides. Not only have the two squads tasted immense success under him, but a considerable number of players from within have gotten the required amount of exposure and match practice to inculcate skills like match-awareness and professionalism very early in their careers.

Speaking to Michael Atherton in an interview, Dravid, true to his humble self, credited the board administrators and the improved facilities across the country for the generation of this massive talent pool.

"Go back to my time: what’s changed is the facilities. Cricket is a game that needs facilities such as grass pitches because without them, it’s hard to produce players. Without good facilities, you can’t develop your skills. You can have as much passion as you want but to kick on, you need good infrastructure. It has transformed things like our fielding. The boys actually learn to dive and field properly now."

He also labelled the diversification of selection in terms of geographical demographics as another factor leading to the strengthening of Indian cricket.

"The game’s catchment area has expanded. In our last Under-19 World Cup squad, for example, we had one boy from Mumbai — the captain, Prithvi Shaw [who made a hundred against West Indies A yesterday] – one from Delhi, none from Chennai, none from Bangalore, and one from Kolkata. The game is spreading. We are reaching more people."

The importance of the senior-team players was not left out by the man, who himself has played a huge role in inspiring budding cricketers across the country for over two decades now.

He recognized the contribution of the someone like MS Dhoni, who has come from a relatively small town and made it big in the intimidating world of professional sport, going on to become one of the greatest Indian icons of the 21st century.

"Having a role model like Dhoni from a small town is so important. They (budding cricketers) are saying ‘If he can come from Ranchi and do it, so can we, wherever we may be.’ Facilities are there now to allow that incredible hunger and passion in the smaller towns to flourish."

Lastly, one of the most crucial factors behind this resurgence-the emergence of rookie cricketers getting more and more opportunities in the IPL-was not left unnoticed by Dravid, particularly citing the example of Mayank Markande, who was selected by Mumbai Indians out of the wilderness, as he was not playing state cricket at that time.

"The IPL teams also help, because they are now scouting far more in domestic cricket, using data far more effectively and putting their resources to good use, so sometimes, players are being picked up, who were outside our system."