Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria says that Rahul Dravid shouldn’t be the coach of the Indian team in the shortest format.
Danish Kaneria Slams Rahul Dravid
Kaneria, in a video on his YouTube channel, questioned Dravid’s credentials as a coach of India’s T20 side. While giving Dravid the respect he deserves for the player he was, especially in Tests, the former Pakistani spinner doesn’t think he has the aggression required to make the Indian team successful in the shortest format.
“If you picked Rishabh Pant, you should’ve utilised him. He should’ve been sent out to bat higher up in the batting order, after KL Rahul got out. He came out to bat in the 19th over.
What can he do then? India would have to change the mindset. Rahul Dravid will have to change his mentality. As a cricketer, Rahul Dravid was excellent in the Test format. He should be India’s coach only in Tests but not in T20Is,” Kaneria said.
“His intent is not there as there’s no aggression. He doesn’t know how to handle pressure. He was a ‘calm and cool cricketer’ who can stay on the crease for the whole day. But, this is T20 cricket. Here, you have to handle pressure. But, you can’t handle pressure in T20s,” he further said.
Winning the toss England choose to field first where Indian openers failed to lay the expected foundation where India loses their first wicket for 9 runs.
“Rahul Dravid also made big mistakes before the World Cup. Different teams were set up by the management but preparation was zero. Where was Rahul Tewatia? If he was there, India would’ve had an all-rounder who could’ve played a role similar to Shadab Khan. He bowls and can be an impact player as a batter.
You didn’t invest into him. Your bowling department was weak but you didn’t do anything. Mohammed SIraj could’ve been X-Factor while Umran Malik was also not picked. You need express pacers in Australia. You don’t need 120-130 kph bowlers there,” he asserted.
Soon after KL Rahul’s dismissal, Rohit too lost his wicket for 27 runs while the much-expected Suryakumar Yadav scored just 14 runs and returned to Pavillion. Post the top order failure, Hardik and Virat Kohli joined hands and scored a 61 runs partnership which leads India to score 168 runs at the end of the 20 overs.
After the loss, India skipper Rohit Sharma pointed out the reasons behind the loss. On the other hand, England scored the target without losing a wicket where Jos Buttler scored 80 runs while Alex Hales scored 86 runs.
Hardik Pandya scored 128 runs at a strike rate of 131.95 and bagged 8 wickets in this tournament.
Post the World Cup defeat India will tour New Zealand where they will play 3 T20I matches and as many as ODI matches between November 13 to November 30.
