On the eve of the T20I series opener against New Zealand in Jaipur, India’s newly appointed head coach Rahul Dravid opened up on the approach he will have while being at the helm of affairs.
Dravid replaced Ravi Shastri as chief coach after the latter’s tenure came to an end following India’s underwhelming T20 World Cup 2021 campaign in UAE.
On the other hand, Rohit Sharma has been named India’s T20I skipper as Virat Kohli stepped down as captain from the shortest format following the T20 World Cup.
The three-T20I series against New Zealand is the first assignment in charge for head coach Dravid and full-time T20I skipper Rohit.
"Just had a few interactions, they were busy with the World Cup, did not want to disturb them till the tournament got over. Just had the opportunity to talk with Rohit at times after the World Cup got over, with Virat as well. We have been here in quarantine, had the opportunity to interact with people not face-to-face but atleast through Zoom links or Google Meet. Just sitting back and observing how things are done, learning but yeah a period for me, an opportunity for me to sit back and see how it runs, every team is a different environment. My role initially will be to sit back and observe and step in when required. We have time for that, there is no rush," said Dravid during a virtual press conference on Tuesday (November 16).
Rahul Dravid also made it clear that he will not prioritise any format over the other as a coach, and there will be no letup in terms of preparation.
"No, we do not prioritise formats at all. All three formats are critically important for us, there will be no letup on how we prepare and plan for any of the three formats. We have three ICC events and we need to prepare for those events, as far as planning is concerned, for me, it is just about we wanting to improve constantly and we keep getting better as players, we should be fine."
According to Dravid, New Zealand shouldn’t be viewed as underdogs and India certainly won’t take the visitors lightly.
"New Zealand is a very good side, make no mistake about it. Their performance over the last few years has been exceptional, I think it has become fashionable to call them underdogs in every tournament but honestly, I think the narrative has changed, they enter the tournament, from outside point, they would be underdog but I am sure internally teams which compete against them, know they are going to be a top contender in any tournament they play in," he said.
"New Zealand is well led and they are well prepared. They have beaten India in recent tournaments, this is a fact. But here lies a good opportunity for us to keep getting better and hopefully, we get an opportunity against them in a big tournament, we put one over them," he added.
When asked about the right sort of template for his side, Dravid said: "I do not think we are at that point where we are looking at separate teams, Rohit I would want to play every format. We are not at that point where we are looking at separate teams, we are not going to do that. Ofcourse, there are certain individuals who play certain formats of the game and that happens. In times like these, we need to be in conversations with the players and we need to respect players' mental and physical health."
"It is the most important thing as far as I am concerned, I will always be in conversation with them and I will try to make sure that we have players fresh and fully switched on and we need to recognise it. It is challenging times for players, especially for those who are expected to play all formats of the game. We need to work with them, we might not be able to play every single player, we need to accept the reality. We get the schedule right, we will get all our players on the park and we will be a very formidable team," he added.
After the first T20I in Jaipur, both the teams will move to Ranchi (November 19) for the second game while Kolkata (November 21) will host the last match of the series.
The T20I series will be followed by two Tests, slated to be held in Kanpur (November 25-29) and Mumbai (December 3-7).
(With ANI inputs)
