“Rahul Dravid will find it very difficult to stay on as coach” - Danish Kaneria feels Indian legend will be shown the exit door

Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria reckons that Rahul Dravid might not stay on as Team India coach for long following the ODI series loss against Bangladesh. The Men in Blue went down to the Bangla Tigers by five runs in the second ODI in Dhaka on Wednesday, December 7, thus suffering their second consecutive bilateral ODI series loss in the country.

Apart from skipper Rohit Sharma, coach Dravid has also come under fire over some of the inexplicable tactics employed by the team over the last few months. Before the Bangladesh loss, India also failed to deliver the goods in the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup.

Chasing a gettable 272 in the second ODI, India were restricted to 266/9. Sharing his thoughts on India’s performance, Kaneria said on his YouTube channel:

“It is sad that the series is of three matches. The decider is done and Bangladesh have won the series. There is a long way to go for India.”

Making a big prediction on Dravid’s future with the Indian team, he added:

“There is going to be a lot of criticism and changes in the Indian dressing room. If we talk about the coaching department, Rahul Dravid will find it very difficult to stay on as coach. His exit time seems near. Who will be the next coach of Team India?”

Urging India to get serious about their preparations for the 2023 ODI World Cup, the 41-year-old said:

“They are question marks about the captaincy as well. After all, the World Cup is coming up, which is going to be played in India. You are going to play in an ICC event and preparations have to be made keeping that in mind.”

Bowling first after losing the toss, India reduced Bangladesh to 69/6. However, a seventh-wicket stand of 148 between Mehidy Hasan Miraz (100* off 83) and Mahmudullah (77 off 96) turned the game on its head.

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“It was amazing how close he got us” - Rahul Dravid hails Rohit Sharma for batting with injured hand

While India lost the match by five runs, skipper Rohit won a lot of hearts by walking out to bat at No. 9 despite an injured thumb. The batter slammed 51* off 28 to take his team within striking distance of victory. Hailing Rohit’s efforts, Dravid said after the match:

"He had to go to the hospital. There was a serious dislocation in his hand. He had to get it set at the hospital, take a couple of injections and then get back to the field. Credit to him, he was very determined to have a go out and take a chance. It was amazing how close he got us.”

Meanwhile, Rohit, Kuldeep Sen, and Deepak Chahar will all miss the third ODI against Bangladesh on December 10 due to fitness issues.