Even with less than six weeks left before the 2023 ODI World Cup at home, the Indian cricket team is unsure of their starting eleven. The experiments continue late, with the most debated point being an uncertain middle order. After a heavy top order, the middle order is shaky for several reasons. Suryakumar Yadav has not performed well while Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are back from injuries. Rookie Tilak Varma is still untested in ODIs.
Indian cricket team coach Rahul Dravid said at his pre-departure press conference ahead of the Asia Cup that the team management closed their number four and number five slots for the ODI World Cup almost 18 months ago, but three batters quickly got injured. succession threw a spanner in the works.
Dravid said injuries to the likes of Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant forced the team management to try out other players in the mid-range in recent times, and that experimentation was not just for the sake of experimentation.
“The No. 4 and No. 5 spots are much discussed and gives the impression that we had no clarity on who would be there. I could have told you 18-19 months ago who the three candidates for the two spots were,” said coach Rahul Dravid.
“It was always between Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. There was no doubt,” Dravid said during India’s pre-departure presser ahead of the Asia Cup.
“It’s a shame that all three of them had injuries in the space of two months. What are the chances of that happening? All three guys pushing for those two spots had serious injuries and had to go under the knife.
“So you have to respond to that, put other people in those positions and see who can do that. In case there is a World Cup, they are not fit. We tried a few people in that situation.”
The former Indian captain added: “This word (experiment) keeps being thrown around without thought. It’s not that we experiment for the sake of experimentation, sometimes there are specific reasons for it.”
While Pant is still out of action after suffering multiple injuries in a horrific car accident on the Dehradun-Delhi highway last December, Iyer and Rahul hurt their backs and thighs respectively in March and May.
Both Iyer and Rahul have recovered and are part of India’s Asia Cup squad. However, Rahul will miss the first two games due to a problem.
Iyer’s back injury flared up after the fourth Border-Gavaskar Test against Australia in March. But the batsman will strengthen the Indian middle class at the Asia Cup and the World Cup.
“He’s looked good. Now it’s about giving him playing time. Hopefully we can give him that at the Asian Cup and build him up for the World Cup. He’s ticked all the boxes in this camp, batted a lot and played.” , said Dravid.
With PTI inputs
Topics mentioned in this article
