Former Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar feels that Indian head coach Rahul Dravid will have to prove that he is not an "overrated" coach.
In the last few months, the Indian cricket team has seen a plethora of changes. Virat Kohli in November last year stepped down as the T20I skipper and then later in December was sacked as the ODI skipper by BCCI, who named Rohit Sharma as the new-white ball skipper.
Kohli then on 15th January shell shocked the entire fraternity with his decision to step down as the Indian Test skipper. His decision came after India’s Test series loss against South Africa.
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After a disappointing Test series defeat against South Africa, India lost the ODI series as well with one match to go. With Rohit Sharma not being there due to injury, KL Rahul captained Team India in the 50-over series and found himself under the firing line for the team’s poor outing especially after the standards set by Virat Kohli as skipper.
Apart from the skipper, new coaching management under Rahul Dravid has also received some flak for suffering their first defeat on their maiden overseas tour, especially against a slight 'weak' South African team.
Speaking to PTI, Shoaib Akhtar said that Indian cricket is definitely at the ‘pinnacle point’. He stressed that they will now have to take control and head coach Rahul Dravid has a big job in his hands and prove that he’s not an overrated coach.
"I don't know what (BCCI president) Sourav Ganguly and other people think. But Indian cricket is definitely at the pinnacle point (crossroads). No, Indian cricket is not going down. You have to take control of the situation. Rahul Dravid has a big job in his hands.
"I hope people don't say that he's an overrated coach. He has to prove that, and obviously he has big shoes to fill in the place of Ravi Shastri. He has a big task ahead, let's see how he performs,” Shoaib Akhtar said.
While talking about Indian pacers, Shoaib Akhtar said that he’s impressed with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami and it’ll be good if they start developing an attitude like the Pakistanis.
"They have made very healthy progress. Yes I'm very impressed, hope more such fast bowlers keep coming from the sub-continent and they keep performing. I love everyone, I love Bumrah, Shami is great... It will be good fun if they also start developing an attitude like the Pakistanis," he said.
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Shoaib hailed Indian pacers as the wheels of the Team India but remarked that they need to be replaced like the tyres of the vehicle as they also need rest to perform well.
"They are like the 'wheels' of the team. Of course, you have to replace them like you change 'tyres'. They also need a bit of rest in between and you also have to make them perform.
“There's too much of cricket nowadays, there's too much of pressure on cricketers these days, especially on the fast bowlers, there's too much pressure and the amount of travelling they do, it's not right," he said.
(PTI Inputs)
