The Indian head coach, Rahul Dravid has showered praises on the Sri Lanka team, calling them a very good T20I side with some class players in their squad. Sri Lanka registered a 16-run win over India at the MCA stadium in Pune to level the three-game T20I series 1-1. Speaking after the game, Dravid said Sri Lanka is a very experienced T20I side, insisting that they’re very competitive.

As per the quotes in India Today, during the post-match press conference, Rahul Dravid said, “I think they’re a very good T20I side. I think they’ve got a very experienced T20I side. From the World Cup, they haven’t made too many changes to their starting XI. They’re a very good T20I team and they’ve got some class players like they showed today.”

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He further added, “They’ve got a couple of very good spinners, they’ve got power hitters as well. I think Dasun Shanaka is playing really well. They’re a very competitive side. They’ve had some tough periods but not a side that you would take lightly at any stage.”

The Indian head coach also went on to say that India, in contrast, is a very young squad and has made a lot of changes since the T20 World Cup.

Describing the same, Rahul Dravid said, “For us it’s different, since the game we played against England in the World Cup, only three-four boys are in the starting XI. We’re in a slightly different stage of looking at a new cycle in T20 cricket. But yeah, slightly youngers team but playing against a side of Sri Lanka’s quality is a fantastic experience for us.”

The former Indian skipper also spoke about Rahul Tripathi, saying he is here on the basis of sheer performance while backing him to perform well for the Indian team. 

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Rahul Dravid explained, “Rahul is not very young as a player, inexperienced maybe for India, but he’s 30 years old and has played a lot of domestic cricket and worked very hard. Maybe we were a bit sad since Sanju got injured, but it’s a happy moment when someone like Rahul, has really earned it and played really well. He got the opportunity to play today and his fielding was exceptional. He will show up with the bat as well, given the opportunities.”