"Honeymoon Period Is Over...": Ex-BCCI Selector on Coach Rahul Dravid's Team India Tenure

10.09.2022 - 05:53 sports.ndtv.com

Ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia, which starts in mid-October, the Indian cricket team got a wake-up call in the Asia Cup.

The Rahul Dravid-coached side could not enter the final after losses to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Super 4. When Dravid was appointed the Indian cricket team head coach in 2021, expectations were really high from the batting great.

Now, the former Indian cricket team captain faces an acid Test going into the T20 World Cup. Former BCCI selector Saba Karim says that this is a 'crunch time' for Dravid. "Well, even Rahul Dravid is aware that the honeymoon period is over, and he is trying his best to be an alchemist but so far, such metals haven't been converted into core.

One would expect him to do that. This is crunch time for Rahul Dravid. With the World Cup T20 coming up, next year the ODI World Cup coming up.

cricket India Cricket Team on Rahul Dravid Asia Cup Australia South Africa India Sri Lanka Pakistan

The Indian T20I team combination has seen a distinct trait in the last few matches. The veteran Dinesh Karthik is being preferred more over Rishabh Pant in the wicketkeeper-batter's role. Karthik's ability as a finisher in the No. 6 position seems to be working in his favour. Pant, however, brings his left-handed batting prowess to the table - a quality which is important for Team India, especially after Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out of the T20 World Cup in Australia.

Virat Kohli surpasses Rahul Dravid, becomes India's second highest run-scorer in international cricket

Virat Kohli on Sunday surpassed Rahul Dravid to become the second highest run-scorer for India in international cricket. The star batter accomplished this feat in the third T20I against Australia in Hyderabad. In the match, the 'Chase Master' Kohli was in full flow, switching from attacker to anchor, from anchor to attacker at will. He struck 63 runs in 48 balls, consisting of three fours and four sixes. His strike rate was also pretty solid at 131.25. Now, Kohli has a total of 24,078 runs in 471 matches across 525 innings at an average of 53.62. His best individual score in cricket is 254*. 71 centuries have come from his bat along with 125 half-centuries. He has surpassed Indian great Rahul Dravid, who has scored 24,064 international runs for the Indian cricket team. Though Dravid's international cricket run tally stands at 24,208, the rest of his 144 runs have been scored as a part of teams like Asia XI, ICC World XI.

"They Are The Favourites": Ex-BCCI Selector On Potential T20 World Cup Winner. It's Not India

The 2022 T20 World Cup starts next month in Australia and all the teams are in the final phase of their preparations. The Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team is currently playing against defending T20 World Cup champions Australia in a bilateral series. After a forgettable Asia Cup campaign, where they could not qualify for the final, the series against Australia followed by one against South Africa will be the final two bilateral contests that India play ahead of the T20 World Cup. On the other hand, Pakistan are playing England in a seven-match T20I series. All these teams are heavyweights going into the T20 World Cup.

"When You Go To In-Law's Place...": Wasim Jaffer Trolls Rahul Dravid Over Delayed Match In Nagpur

The second T20I between India and Australia in Nagpur was delayed by more than an hour due to a wet outfield at the VCA Stadium. Even though there was no rain at the time the toss was supposed to happen, outpours earlier in the day and the day before meant the pitch was not ready for play. Former India batter Wasim Jaffer took the opportunity to post a hilarious tweet for India head coach Rahul Dravid. "When you go to in law's place after a certain age, things don't necessarily start on time," Jaffer tweeted, adding a hashtag with Dravid's name.

"Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid Will Be Concerned": BCCI President Sourav Ganguly On Team India's Recent Form

After a forgettable Asia Cup campaign, where it failed to qualify for the final, the Indian cricket team started off their T20I series against Australia with a four-wicket loss. Despite putting up a 208-run total, a tame Indian bowling attack could not defend the high target. The worst part about the team is that with five more official T20Is left before the opening T20 World Cup game against Pakistan on October 23, the Indian team looks highly unsettled.

Virat Kohli 207 Runs Away From Surpassing Rahul Dravid To Achieve Big India Record

Star India batter Virat Kohli, who ended his two-and-a-half-year century drought in the Asia Cup 2022, had a memorable run in the entire tournament. Kohli ended his campaign with a total of 276 runs to his name, the second highest in the tournament. Kohli is now eyeing a good performance against Australia in the home series and yet another milestone in his career. He is just 207 runs away from surpassing India head coach Rahul Dravid to become the second highest run-getter across all formats for India. When achieves the mark he will also become the sixth-highest run-scorer in international cricket.