The Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has opened up about the on-field argument between Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and Afghan allrounder Mohammad Nabi during the super over of the 3rd T20I match.
Rahul Dravid Opens on Rohit-Nabi Argument
Rahul Dravid has downplayed the verbal altercation between Rohit Sharma and Mohammad Nabi during the final T20I match of Afghanistan’s India tour 2024 at Bengaluru.
India has won two T20I matches and led the series 2-0 before playing in the final match. India chose to bat and scored 212 runs in their innings where Rohit Sharma surpassed the record of Virat Kohli for most runs as India T20I captain.
Eventually, Afghanistan also scored 212 runs in their innings and the match resulted in a draw. During the super over, Rohit and Nabi were involved in a heated argument after the ball deflected off the Afghan player’s pads during a run between the wickets.
The deflection happened after Sanju Samson’s throw which hit Mohammad Nabi’s pads and went towards Kohli.
Seeing an opening, Nabi stole extra runs as the ball went at long-on. Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were unhappy with the Afghanistan all-rounder’s attempt.
While speaking in the post-match conference, Rahul Dravid neglected the altercation saying that it is normal while playing for the country.
“It’s fine. It’s part of the game. Some frustrations at times can happen but it is okay. It hit the non-striker and then it moved and I think it is fine, you know, you can run for those,” Dravid said.
“To be honest, in the first T20I there was an incident where it hit the bat of our batsman and we ran a run as well. I think there’s nothing to read into, there’s nothing in the rules that stops you from actually running those runs. That’s fine, it’s part of the game.
“It can happen at the end. I think sometimes when you play for your country, there’s so much passion and emotion. I think it is incredible that even in dead-rubber games when it gets down to the wire, that competitiveness comes out, that passion comes out.
As long as it doesn’t cross the line… that’s why we have match referees and people who are there to look at these things. I think sometimes a little bit of that passion and emotion is really important. It shows that people care. I think as long as it doesn’t cross the line, it’s great,” he added.
India has completed their T20I series against Afghanistan and is set to play in a five-match Test series against England at home starting on January 25. The first test will kickstart at 09;30 AM IST at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
