India’s Head Coach Rahul Dravid expressed satisfaction with India’s preparation for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 following their 2-1 series victory against Australia, despite a loss in the last ODI in Rajkot.
Dravid emphasized the importance of players like Jasprit, Ashwin, Shreyas, and KL Rahul getting valuable game time, especially against a strong opposition. He mentioned that practice games usually involve 15 players on each side, making it challenging to replicate the high level of intensity seen in competitive matches.
Jasprit played a couple of matches and completed his allotted 10 overs. Ashwin’s performance in the first two games was noteworthy. KL Rahul’s wicket-keeping for the full fifty overs, especially after a six-month break, has been impressive. Shreyas has delivered some strong performances in recent matches. I’m genuinely pleased with our progress, and I hope we can maintain this momentum as we approach the World Cup.
Dravid said he was satisfied with the performance of his players returning from injury and other breaks. “There are always areas you want to improve on, and we have checked a lot of boxes,” he stressed. “It’s nice to see that the guys who have been out with injury have been away for a while. From our perspective, they’ve been able to get some good cricket, spend time in the middle, get some runs, and take some wickets, but there are always little things that you can improve.
“It’s going to be a long, tough tournament. We’re constantly looking to improve as a team, even when we have results going our way.”
Dravid also confirmed that the squad, which currently isn’t together, will assemble in Guwahati for the first of the warm-up fixtures against England.
