IND vs SA: I Think He Did A Decent Job As Someone Who Is Touring – Rahul Dravid On Stand-In Captain KL Rahul

Team India head coach Rahul Dravid believes that stand-in captain KL Rahul did a decent job as a skipper of the team in the recently concluded three-match ODI series in South Africa.

South Africa won the three-match ODI series against India by 3-0 by winning the first match by 31 runs, the second match by 7 wickets, and the third and final match by 4 runs.

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KL Rahul was appointed as the captain for the ODI series against South Africa after white-ball captain Rohit Sharma suffered a hamstring injury and was ruled out of the tour.

During a virtual press conference, Dravid said it is not easy for KL Rahul to be on the wrong end of the results. The head coach added that Rahul is just starting his journey as a skipper and he will learn with time and get better.

“I thought KL Rahul did a good job, not easy for him. Not easy to be on the wrong end of the results. He is going to learn, he is starting out in his journey as captain, he is beginning and a large part of captaincy is the execution of the skills of your players and the quality of the side. I think we were a little bit short in the ODI side of the things,” said Dravid during a virtual press conference.

“I think he did a decent job as someone who is touring, definitely he will get better as a captain,” Dravid added.

The idea is obviously to try and develop people like Venkatesh Iyer as a sixth bowling option – Rahul Dravid

Ahead of the three-match ODI series between India and South Africa stand-in captain Rahul had said the team was looking at Venkatesh Iyer as their sixth bowling option. However, Iyer wasn’t given an opportunity to bowl in the first ODI but he did bowl a few overs in the second game, before being dropped for the third match.

When asked for clarity on the role of all-rounder Iyer, Dravid said that a sixth bowler in the team might not always bowl.

“When you are a sixth bowler in the team, it can happen you are not required to bowl, The idea is obviously to try and develop people like Venkatesh Iyer as a sixth bowling option, whether it’s Venkatesh or Hardik when he comes back. We also have got the option of someone like Jadeja who has been batting really well and can potentially bat at No. 6 at certain times when he is back from the injury.”

Dravid added that Iyer’s role in the Indian team is to bat at no.6 and bowl a few overs and the team management can’t give him the top order slot because they already have a lot of players for that role.

“I know he has batted at the top of the order for KKR [in the IPL] and at times for MP [Madhya Pradesh, Iyer’s domestic side], though he has batted in the middle order as well for MP. In our team, we were looking for a No. 6 who can be a sixth bowling option. That was the role we had for him here because we have quite a few options at the top of the order at this point, especially when Rohit comes back.”

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