What’s the story?
After India’s staggering loss to Pakistan in the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, former Indian captain Rahul Dravid had urged the selectors to determine the roadmap for senior players in the team namely MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh.
“It is a call that is got to be taken by the selectors and the management. And what they see as the road map for Indian cricket, and where they see the role of both these cricketers going ahead for the next couple of years. Is there a place for both of them? Is there a place for only one of them,” Dravid told ESPNCricinfo.
The Details
Dravid, who is also the coach of India’s U-19 team believes that the time is ripe to give the youngsters a go in the limited formats and see where they are in about 6-months time.
If success does not follow them, the management could always go back to the experienced Yuvraj-Dhoni in the future.
He also expressed hope the team experiments with the playing XI in West Indies and give more game time to the younger blokes in the team which will only boost their confidence.
The former captain also spoke about the ineffectiveness of finger spinners in ODIs and said that the flat nature of pitches have taken away balance from the orthodox spinners. Thus, he advocated in favour of wrist spinners and hoped that young Kuldeep Yadav gets an extended run with the team and plays many matches.
In case you didn’t know...
India were smashed away by Pakistan by 180 runs in the finals of the Champions Trophy. The team now will take on West Indies in a 5-match ODI series.
The selectors have named a largely unchanged squad and only Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah miss out from the Champions Trophy squad.
Young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant and wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav have been included in the squad.
What's next?
Captain Virat Kohli spoke of holding the heads high after the Champions Trophy loss and it hence it would be interesting to see how the team adjusts to West Indies conditions against the hosts which are themselves a formidable ODI outfit.
Also, the composition of the team would be closely observed.
The first match is on June 23 at the Queens Park Oval in Trinidad.
Author's Take
Rahul Dravid’s assessment is honest and in many ways, he has hit the nail on the head as far as India’s plans should be building up to 2019 World Cup.
In the modern day cricket, number 4 and 5 positions often define the result the match and hence both Yuvraj and Dhoni at these positions could be bit of a liability considering the fact that they are past their prime and although there is no denying their match-winning prowess, a call has to be made if a team has to be moulded ahead of 2019 World Cup.
There is no harm in giving few of the younger players a go and observe how they react under pressure and then take a call in about 6 months to a year down the line.
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