IND vs WI: Parthiv Patel Defends Hardik Pandya, Questions Rahul Dravid's Ability After Loss Against West Indies

With Team India suffering an embarrassing loss in the second T20I against West Indies, former wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel has questioned Rahul Dravid’s ability to coach a team in the shortest format of the game.

India’s performance in the white-ball matches in the ongoing tour of the West Indies has been really disappointing. In the first ODI, the Men in Blue were reeling at 97 for 5 while chasing 114 before being bowled out for 181 in the second ODI and losing the game by six wickets. They did well in the third ODI and won it by 200 runs to clinch the series.

The performance in the ongoing T20I series has been worse. In the first T20I, the Hardik Pandya-led side suffered a four-run loss after failing to chase down 149. And on Sunday (August 7), India lost the second T20I too after Pandya and his teammates failed to defend 152 despite reducing West Indies to 129 for 8 at one stage.

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Parthiv Patel questions Rahul Dravid’s ability:

The latest loss is another low in Rahul Dravid’s journey as Team India coach. The former India skipper replaced Ravi Shastri as the coach in 2021 and has not done anything remarkable so far. Under him, India failed to win the Asia Cup, T20 World Cup, and the World Test Championship final. In March, they also lost the ODI series at home against Australia.

And the poor performances against West Indies have further highlighted Rahul Dravid’s failure to turn India into a strong side. As Team India struggles to do well, Parthiv Patel has said that Dravid might not be the answer to India’s problem in T20Is. The former India wicketkeeper defended Hardik Pandya and said that the lack of a proactive approach from Dravid might be an issue for the India T20I captain.

“Hardik Pandya has been brilliant as a captain for GT, but over there he had support from Ashish Nehra as well. Is Rahul Dravid the proactive person or coach, which we are looking for in the T20 format? In my opinion, I don’t think so. We need someone who is proactive, Hardik Pandya has that spark, but he needs that support and Rahul Dravid does not provide that for him,” Parthiv Patel told Cricbuzz.

Team India will now be looking to bounce back in the third T20I on Tuesday (August 8). India will have to win the game at any cost to keep the series alive.