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The Indian cricket team has faced much backlash after losing the Test series and the ODI series against South Africa despite the latter playing without some of their big stars. Head coach for the men in blue, Rahul Dravid, answered a range of questions that might have bothered and raised eyebrows during the post-match presentation after the Proteas completed a 3-0 ODI clean sweep against India.
The Indian unit has been questioned for their captaincy decisions, poor show in middle-overs both in batting and bowling and youngsters missing out on a chance to play.
A large part of ODI template depends on balance of the side: Dravid
Reflection on the tour, Dravid said: "Yeah, we understand the template. A large part of the template is also dependant on the balance of your squad." His response came after he was asked if Team India needs to revisit its template in 50-over cricket.
Further, Dravid confirmed that the Indian Team was not a balanced one as they missed Hardik Pandya and a recovering Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out with an injury. Speaking of them, he added, "Hopefully, when they (Hardik and Jadeja) come back, it will give us a lot more depth; it allows us to play in a slightly different style probably."
We played some poor shots: Dravid
Along expected lines, Dravid stressed the fact that the Indian batting middle order needed to step up. "We certainly could do better with batting in middle overs," Dravid said. Without naming any cricketer particularly, Dravid also added that the team"played some poor shots, and we didn't play some smart cricket at critical situations."
India's next assignment is against the West Indies squad. By then, the management will hope to have regular captain Rohit Sharma back at the helm. The Hitman's absence was felt not only as a batter but even as a leader, especially in the white-ball games. There is no doubt that the Indian would want a strong home season but will also keep an eye on the T20 and ODI World Cup coming up.