ICC World Cup 2023: Home Advantage Has Reduced Due To Tournaments Like IPL - Rahul Dravid

Indian head coach Rahul Dravid on Tuesday (29th August) talked about the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 and the ICC World Cup 2023. He said that the team is fully prepared and they are hoping to have a good tournament.

The Asia Cup 2023 is all set to kick start from tomorrow (30th August). Indian Cricket Team will open their campaign against Pakistan on 2nd September and they will be flying to Sri Lanka in the next 24 hours. The tournament opener will be played between Pakistan and Nepal in Lahore.

The Indian team are currently undergoing a training camp in Bengaluru. For the last 5 days, the Men in Blue have been putting in the hard yards under the guidance of head coach Rahul Dravid. Both batters as well as bowlers took part in various drills and left no stone unturned in their preparation.

Head coach Rahul Dravid attended the press conference in Bengaluru on the eve of India’s departure for Sri Lanka. He talked about how over the last 10-12 years the significance of home conditions in the continent has reduced because of the IPL, highlighting how overseas players have gotten exposure to Indian pitches. He explained:

“We are all prepared as well as we can be. There are going to be some really good teams coming here. The whole thing of home advantage, especially in the sub-continent, has reduced to a large extent over the last 10-12 years because people come here and play so much, especially with tournaments like the IPL. You have people here for 2 months, getting used to the conditions. So it’s going to be a really close and tight tournament.”

It’s exciting to play a World Cup at home – Rahul Dravid

After the Asia Cup 2023, Team India will be taking part in the ICC World Cup, which will take place in India. The Asian tournament no doubt will be a great opportunity for them to address all the issues and get ready for the main event.

Rahul Dravid said that going into the World Cup, they as a team are very confident. He admitted that there will be pressure as well but they are ready for the challenge. He explained:

“We feel confident. We are all looking forward to it. I, as a coach, am really excited about it. I hope we can have a really good tournament. We are building up really nicely.. some of the guys coming back from injuries.

“Not into legacies as a coach. It’s exciting to play a World Cup at home. There is going to be some pressure associated with it which is well, which we all expect.”

The ICC World Cup 2023 will begin from 5th October. India will open their campaign against Australia on 8th October in Chennai.