On the eve of the second Test against South Africa, India head coach Rahul Dravid admitted that his team needs to do better at maintaining over rate but he expects a bit of "leeway" in certain cases.
Notably, the Virat Kohli-led side docked one World Test Championship (WTC) point following the first Test against South Africa in Centurion last week.
Points deduction for over-rate offences could prove costly to any team who are in contention to reach the WTC final.
Recently, England were penalized eight WTC points for being eight overs short in the first Ashes Test at Gabba.
Sharing his two cents on the same, Dravid on Sunday (January 2) said officials must have a full understanding of situations before deciding to dock points.
"The ICC is trying something obviously. It does feel harsh as a coach and it does feel a bit tough at times but it certainly gets us thinking, gets us wanting to quicken it up," quoted Dravid while addressing a virtual media conference.
"They've tried fines in the past and that doesn't seem to work, tried other methods or methodologies in the past that didn't seem to work."
"The ICC is trying to go down the points route which I am fine with...as long as there is a bit of leeway and bit of understanding when the game is on. We had a few injury issues last time...of course we were given some leeways but sometimes it's not exactly, it's difficult to pinpoint how many minutes you lose," he added.
The coach also pointed out the areas which the team can work on to get better regarding over-rate.
"When you have Bumrah roll over an ankle and the physios got to go and spend a lot of time (in the middle). There were other issues with the ball change last time.
"So you know there were a few small areas that maybe we can get a little bit better at but as a principle, we are fine with it, we just need to react and respond better."
Having won the Centurion Test by 113 runs, Team India are leading the three-match Test series 1-0. The second Test will kick-off on January 3 in Johannesburg.
(With PTI inputs)
