Team India is all set to give the final touch to their preparations for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 with a home series against Australia. Notably, India will take on the Australian team in a three-match ODI series, starting on Friday, September 22, in Mohali.
Well, there were a lot of mixed reactions from fans and the Indian cricket fraternity when captain Rohit Sharma and batting superstar Virat Kohli were rested for the first two ODIs against Australia.
Meanwhile, ahead of the opening clash, the Indian cricket team’s head coach, Rahul Dravid, has revealed the reason behind resting Rohit and Kohli for the first two ODIs against Australia.
Dravid said that the decision was made in order to give the senior players a break and to manage their workload ahead of the World Cup. The coach stressed that it was important to give them a rest so that they can be fresh for the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023, starting on October 5.
While saying that there are a lot of talented players in the squad and the team management wanted to give them a chance to prove themselves, the legendary cricketer revealed that the decision to rest Kohli and Virat was taken after mutual discussion and consultation.
Rahul Dravid said in the pre-match press conference: “With people like Virat and Rohit specifically, from our perspective, it's really important that we get them to that first game of the World Cup, physically and mentally in the space that they want to be in. At this level, with the amount of cricket that they've played, they know how they need to prepare themselves. A lot of these decisions are made in discussion in them - all our players, not only the two of them. But certainly, the senior and the more experienced guys kind of have their routines and know what they need to do to get into that first game just in the right frame of mind,”
“We discuss with them on how best they'd like to prepare in the lead-up to big events like the World Cup. And we came up with mutual decisions on deciding that these two games were good for them to take off, just to refresh mentally more than anything else. And then come back in Rajkot and then it's going to be a tough couple of months ahead for us,” he added.
Meanwhile, Dravid said that they are completely backing Suryakumar Yadav, as they believe that he will turn it around in ODI cricket, also confirming that he will be getting an opportunity in the first 2 ODIs against Australia.
“We've picked our team for the World Cup and Surya is in it. We made that decision to do that and we completely back him. We back him because he's got a certain quality and an ability that we have seen. Yes, I know we've seen it at the moment only in T20 cricket, but we know the kind of impact a player like him can make batting at six,”
“He can change the course of a game, so we've completely backed him. We've been pretty clear about that. There's been total clarity on the fact that we're completely behind him,”
"We know that hopefully he'll be able to turn it around in these three games. Again, he is someone who will get these three games, and at least the first couple certainly, to be able to again develop and keep growing on his journey as a one-day cricketer. But in terms of selection, I think we've made our decision,” Dravid firmly stated.
Dravid then elaborated the rationale begins R Ashwin’s return to ODI team after almost 21 months, “It's a good thing. If you have a player of that quality, you can call him on at any stage if anyone else is injured. We had it in our mind that there was a player of Ashwin's quality and we could call him back to the side anytime. It's a good opportunity for him also to test himself because he is returning to the ODI side after a long gap. I won't say that it's a trail for him or anything like that. We know his quality. But it's an opportunity for him to play games in the format. We just want to give him that opportunity to play 2-3 games, if required, before the World Cup,”
“Having someone of R Ashwin's experience to come back is always good for us. Look I think, someone like Ashwin provides you that experience, that ability to also contribute with the bat at No. 8, also we thought of it, in case, there were certain injuries, in case there were certain opportunities opened up, then he was someone who was always part of our plans,”
“Someone of his ability and experience, I know hasn't played a lot of one-day cricket over the last bit but you know someone of his experience can probably deal with that really well,” he signed off.
(India Today/ICC inputs)
