One of India's greatest ever, Rahul Dravid is pleased with the results he is getting in his current role that allows him to keep enriching Indian Cricket. The India A head coach is extremely pleased with the win in the List A tri-series against West Indies and the hosts England but he is more delighted to have once again adhered to the primary ambition of strengthening India's second string of players coming through.
The newest member of the prestigious ICC Hall of Fame believes India's bench strength showing good signs of development is brilliant for the senior team with the World Cup less than a year away.
On India A's win in the final at the Oval, the great man said to ESPNcricinfo, "A lot of these tours aren't necessarily about winning, but I think the quality of cricket we've played throughout this tournament - except for the first game where we didn't bat particularly well - has been really good, A lot of the boys have had their first-time exposure to these conditions; we tried to rotate the squad as much as we could and give everyone decent opportunities"
"It's been quite satisfying, some good performances. A tough game today as well, we had to fight back with the ball and the bat - so good to see them fight, good to see them compete in these conditions. Definitely some positives, as well as seeing some of the boys get into the national side as well, irrespective of the result"
"Especially with the World Cup in a year's time, it's nice to have bench strength, for the selectors to know there are good young players if the situation does arise. It's nice to replicate this experience leading into the World Cup, to give these boys some exposure in these conditions."
He reiterated that the constant exposure to different conditions that players get playing at A level, just below the International scene, is something that is really helping Indian Cricket develop players for the senior team more efficiently.
Dravid said, "There's a good bench strength being developed and I think it gives people a lot of confidence that there are players, if the situation arises, who are in good touch and playing well, Over the last couple of years, we've done really quite well in white-ball cricket at this level, built up quite a few players - so that's a good thing for Indian cricket"
"All the quicks were really good, we rotated the four of them and all of them had their moments and did well in the series. I think we've got a really strong bowling attack at the moment, with the India side, a lot of variation and depth, and it's nice to see we've got another batch there in case of injuries. Especially with the fast-bowling department, you need back-ups and people who can come in - we've got Deepak and Shardul [in India's last series before this tour] joining the national team due to injuries. It's good to see the fast bowlers coming through and almost out-bowl some of the English seamers in these conditions, which is a really good sign for us."
There is no concrete "Wall", Rahul Dravid is a sponge from which Indian Cricket has the luxury to extract every drop of wisdom.
