Rahul Dravid Not Happy With India’s Batting Order Failure
India’s focus on having a diverse bowling lineup in T20I cricket was evident during their recent series against West Indies. Despite the risks involved, they decided to go with relatively less potent batting line-up.
This decision misfired in a lack of batting depth, which has been a major talking point of West Indies vs India series. Head coach Rahul Dravid acknowledged this issue, stating that they need to find depth in their batting without compromising the strength of their bowling attack. Rahul Dravid said:
I think going forward, we’ve got to look at certain areas in which we can get better. Finding depth in our batting has been an area we are trying to address. We are trying to do the best we possibly can but that’s certainly an area we can look at, how we cannot weaken our bowling attack but ensure we have a certain amount of depth in batting.
Dravid highlighted the importance of having depth in batting as scores in T20 cricket continue to rise. He cited examples of teams like West Indies, who have strong batting lineups that stretch down to their lower order. India, on the other hand, faced challenges in this aspect during the series against West Indies and are looking to address it moving forward.
The absence of senior players due to workload management or injury added to India’s batting woes. Many of these players are either specialist batsmen or specialist bowlers. In their search for all-rounders, former cricketer Wasim Jaffer suggested considering some promising IPL players who can make an impact.
Jaffer emphasized the importance of building for the upcoming T20 World Cup, with the bulk of the team likely to come from the current squad. He mentioned young players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, and Arshdeep Singh as potential future stars. Jaffer also stressed the need to fill the gap in the batting lineup, particularly beyond No. 7, to alleviate the pressure on the top-order batsmen.
Considering how Indian team will build uo around new players, Wasim Jaffer said:
Within ten months’ time, India will be playing the World Cup. This can’t be the template. The batting needs to come till No. 8, possibly No. 9, somebody who can tonk the ball. And obviously the bowlers, they need to start getting their batting a little bit better. At least their six-hitting or four-hitting ability. We need to look at guys who can bat and bowl. Shivam Dube comes to my mind. Venkatesh Iyer, Washington Sundar, those are the guys that come to mind and we need to groom them.
Despite the challenges, the players who had the opportunity to showcase their skills in the West Indies series made a strong impression. Yashasvi Jaiswal, in particular, displayed his talent with a century on Test debut and a match-winning half-century in the T20Is.
Tilak Varma also showed promise in the middle order, handling difficult situations with intent and contributing with both bat and ball. Mukesh Kumar, who has toiled in domestic cricket for years, proved his worth by earning a national call-up in all three formats.
Dravid lauded the three debutants, highlighting Jaiswal’s impressive innings, Varma’s positive approach, and all-round abilities, and Kumar’s dedication and skills. These players demonstrated their potential and provided India with hope for the future.
With the T20 World Cup on the horizon, India is determined to strengthen their batting depth without compromising the strength of their bowling attack. The performances of the debutants in the West Indies series have provided encouragement and optimism for the team’s future.
