Team India head coach Rahul Dravid expressed his delight with the team’s preparations leading up to the much-awaited ODI World Cup 2023, which is set to begin on October 5. Rahul Dravid hoped to maintain the winning momentum for the upcoming World Cup.
The Rohit Sharma-led team suffered a 66-run defeat against Australia in the third ODI in Rajkot on Wednesday, September 27. The hosts conceded 352 runs to the Australian team in the dead rubber match. In response, they were bowled out for 286 runs in 49.4 overs.
It’s Hard To Get That Level Of Intensity – Rahul Dravid
Speaking after the third ODI match against Australia, Rahul Dravid emphasized the importance of game time for players returning from injuries. He stated that playing against a competitive side provides valuable experience in preparation for the World Cup.
“For people like Jasprit, Ashwin, Shreyas, KL, getting game time was important, and getting that against a competitive side is a good thing. The practice games are generally 15 vs 15 so it’s hard to get that level of intensity in those games,” Dravid said.
Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer returned to the ODI setup during the Asia Cup 2023 after recovering from their respective injuries. On the other hand, Ravichandran Ashwin was named in the ODI squad during the Australia series after almost 20 months.
Really Happy With How Things Are Going – Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid expressed satisfaction with the performances of key players like Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer as they returned from injuries or breaks.
“Jasprit got a couple of games, and bowled his quota of 10 overs. Siraj suffered from a bug but got back and was able to bowl today. It was good to see how Ashwin bowled in the first two games.”
KL and his keeping through fifty overs, returning after 6 months, has been great. Shreyas has got some good knocks in the last couple of games. Really happy with how things are going and hopefully we can keep the momentum going into the World Cup.”
The Men in Blue will commence their World Cup journey against Pat Cummins’ team at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on October 8. The Rohit Sharma-led team is unlikely to make changes to the provisional squad unless there are injury concerns.
India World Cup Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav
Also read: Rahul Dravid Reflects On Lack Of Part-Time Bowlers In Indian Team, Says ‘Because Of The Rule Change’ In Middle Overs
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