India head coach Rahul Dravid expressed a sense of empathy for the New Zealand team that has just lost 3-0 in a T20I series in India. Dravid understands how difficult it must have been for the tourists to make a super quick turnaround from the T20 World Cup final in Dubai.
New Zealand played the three T20Is against India in Jaipur, Ranchi and Kolkata after only a three-day gap from the end of the T20 World Cup last November 14. Dravid felt sorry for the opposition and said they always knew it wouldn’t be easy for the Blackcaps.
“It’s not easy for New Zealand to play a World Cup final, turn up three days later, and play three games in six days. We knew it was never going to be easy on them,”
he told host broadcaster Star Sports at the conclusion of the third T20I in Kolkata on November 21.
India’s 73-run victory was their third consecutive comprehensive win for the series. But while obviously pleased with the outcome, Dravid didn’t lose sight of the bigger picture, making a point to stress that his boys must “keep our feet on the ground and be realistic, especially with bigger things down the line in the next 12 months.”
India had already rested multiple of their first-choice players for the T20I series, including Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami. And having taken a 2-0 lead, the management also decided to rest opener KL Rahul and spin king R Ashwin ahead of the Tests.
Dravid said the series helped India give the youngsters a go and track their development in terms of skills. He said the biggest takeaway from the series is the skill level that some of the players showcased at different stages and now it is about “developing those skills” with every game.
“It’s been great to see the younger guys come through, we’ve given opportunity to some of the guys who haven’t played too much cricket in the last few months with the seniors taking rest.”
Further, the legend strongly indicated this wasn’t the first set of matches for which India rested their main stars as the hectic all-format schedule over the next one year makes it necessary for players to be rested and rotated.
“It’s really nice that we have options. We can mix and match. Its going to be a long season, lots of games to be played till the next World Cup and we need to do that [rest and rotate] with some of our players and be realistic about how much cricket needs to be played,”
he said.
Like New Zealand, India themselves are in for a super quick turnaround now as they head into a two-match Test series against the visitors. The first Test will be played in Kanpur from November 25, followed by the next in Mumbai from December 3.
Both the Tests will be part of the new cycle of the World Test Championship, where India started their campaign with two wins and one loss in the four Tests that they had played in England.
The squad for the New Zealand Tests is already announced, with the selectors taking the opportunity to rest lead quicks Shami, Bumrah, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant and experienced opener Rohit Sharma ahead of the tour of South Africa, which starts only 10 days later.
Regular skipper Kohli, who missed the T20I series, had also opted out of the first Test in Kanpur to freshen up ahead of the Proteas challenge but will return for the second Test in Mumbai. In his place, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane will lead the side in Kanpur.
