Couple of first-class games before any Test tour is only going to help, claims Rahul Dravid

Indian batting legend and Test cricket specialist, Rahul Dravid, is often regarded as one of the most graceful players to have played the sport of cricket in the last two decades. Dravid is currently the coach of the India A team after he previously guided the Prithvi Shaw-led U-19 team to the World Cup title earlier this year.

But the former Indian batsman is not happy with certain changes in pre-tour preparation that have become part of the norm in recent years. In an exclusive interview with The Week, Dravid spoke about how felt that Virat Kohli & co. ought to play more first-class games on home turf to warm-up ahead of any tour on foreign soil.

“I benefited hugely from having proper first-class games. Maybe schedules have changed and things are more complicated, but there is no doubt that a couple of first-class games before any Test tour is only going to help. I found this 14 playing 14 [rotation system] started happening towards the end of my career. I did not like those games as a player,” Dravid told The Week in an interview.

Dravid, who scored 13,000+ runs for India in 164 Test matches, also added that the young Indian generation of players needed more practice in red-ball cricket to reach the top. 

“Work constantly needs to happen. It is not a one-time thing or a two-year thing. I think it is important to tighten the process or programme that exists at U-19 and A team levels. Make it more robust. Make sure there are opportunities every year.

“There is now a path for people who do well in the Ranji Trophy. I definitely feel that in white-ball cricket we have lot of depth, largely due to the amount of white-ball cricket that is played. In red-ball cricket, we have talent and decent backups, but again it is a work in progress,” Dravid added.

When questioned about the disappointing outcome of India’s 4-1 Test series loss to England, Dravid replied, “That will be one of the biggest challenges we will face in the future. Opportunities to play in the Indian team are limited and sometimes you could be doing everything right, and still not get selected. You can only get selected if the position opens up. It is happening a lot more now, because there is a lot more cricket [being played]. But, people are getting opportunities to showcase their talent more than they could in the past.”