Former Indian cricketer and present India U-19 & India A team coach Rahul Dravid is happy with the recently concluded England tour, which he believes that this kind of tour brings proper exposure and opportunities for the cricketers.
In that England tour, India A won the List A tri-series where West Indies A and England Lions also participated. In the final of the tri-series, India A beat England Lions by 5 wickets.
Also read: Zaheer Khan and Mohammad Azharuddin have faith on the Indian bowlers
Later, India A won the two-match unofficial four-day Test series against West Indies A by 1-0 but lost the only unofficial four-day Test match against England Lions.
Dravid is happy with India A performances in that tour but he also believes that the batsmen could have done better in the only unofficial Test against England Lions.
Dravid said, “Winning the one-day series was nice and we got a couple of good results against West Indies A. It was a bit disappointing to lose our last game of the tour against England Lions. On tours like these, I feel the critical element is not so much the result, but it is really about the exposure and opportunities that you give to the players. Most of them are pushing for selection into the national side.
“We had a lot of positives and some learning as well. We definitely could have done better in the batting department in the final game, but against a strong England Lions side, it was a great lesson for the batsmen on how to play in English conditions. From a coaching perspective, there were a lot of lessons that we learnt through the course of this trip.”
Indian senior team cricketers Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane played in the only unofficial Test against England Lions. Dravid feels it was the good practice game for them ahead of the five-match Test series as that was very competitive and tough.
The former Indian captain said, “A lot of players have joined the national side from this team. It also gave an opportunity to Ajinkya Rahane and M Vijay to come down and spend time with us and play a practice game that was competitive and tough.”
Also read: Sachin Tendulkar’s New Academy To Provide 100% Scholarship
After a lot of hard work, Rishabh Pant earns his maiden call-up in the senior Test team through his consistency performance. Dravid has impressed on his batting as he said that the attacking batsman was reading the situation well.
Dravid said on Pant, “On this trip, we challenged him a lot to bat according to the situation. He got a critical 64 not out in the one-day final when he was the last recognized batsman and also against West Indies A when he put on a 100-run partnership with Jayant Yadav.
“He showed that he could bat differently. He has the temperament and skills to bat differently. He is always going to be an attacking player but reading of the situation when you are playing red ball cricket is required.”
Also read: Eden Park can lose India’s matches in next year
Dravid mentions the A tours are a step ahead from the domestic cricket and it’s a good barometer for the cricketers and selectors.
Dravid said, “Yes, the challenge is there and you feel for the boys. The A tours are a step up from domestic cricket. It is really a good barometer for them and the selectors to see whether they can perform or not. If they don’t do well it is still a good opportunity to learn and go back to domestic cricket and work on the things they need to.
“It gives a very good test of where these boys are and an understanding of the skills that need to be worked on both in bowling and batting,” he concluded.
