IND vs PAK: It's Not That We're Trying To Sometimes Experiment For The Sake Of Experimenting - Rahul Dravid

India head coach Rahul Dravid has hit out at critics who slammed him for experimentation in the Indian team ahead of the Asia Cup 2023 and the World Cup. Rahul Dravid said that sometimes, there are specific reasons why they go ahead with experimentation.

The word experimentation became a highlight during the recent IND vs WI series, when team India tested young batters in the 1st ODI and seniors like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli took a backseat. Later, Hardik Pandya led the Indian team as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were rested for the next two ODI games.

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Sometimes There Are Specific Reasons For Experiments: Rahul Dravid

While speaking in a press conference before departing to Sri Lanka for Asia Cup 2023, India head coach Rahul Dravid opened up on critics over experimentation in the Indian team. Dravid said this word is thrown around a lot without thought. He also added that sometimes, experimentation is done for specific reasons.

“To be very honest with you, this word experimentation gets thrown around a lot without actually sometimes being thought through. It’s not that we are trying to sometimes experiment for the sake of experimenting. Sometimes there are specific reasons why you have to do certain things,” Rahul Dravid said.

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The former India captain also elaborated on examples of India’s middle-order batters to justify experimentation in the Indian team.

“Just to give you an example, the No. 4 and 5 spots seem to get discussed and talked about a lot.It gives the impression that we don’t have clarity on who was going to be there, but to be very honest with you, I could have told you 18 or 19 months ago the top two-three candidates we were looking at for the No. 4, 5 slots.

“It was always going to be Shreyas [Iyer], KL [Rahul] and Rishabh [Pant] for those spots, right?

“Obviously, it’s unfortunate that all three of them ended up with injuries in the space of two months. So, you have to react to that, put other people in those positions and see who can do it. Just in case come a World Cup they are not fit. In that situation we tried a few people,” Rahul Dravid further said.

Also Read: IND vs PAK: “Always Brought The Best Out Of Me” – Virat Kohli Reveals His Love For ODIs Ahead Of Asia Cup 2023

During the IND vs WI ODI series, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were dropped from the playing XI and Hardik Pandya was allowed to lead the side. During that time, many slammed Rahul Dravid for executing experiments in the national team.