IND vs SL: 3 Reasons Why Rahul Dravid Should Be Stripped Off As India’s Head Coach

IND vs SL: 3 Reasons Why Rahul Dravid Should Be Stripped Off As India’s Head Coach. When Rahul Dravid took over the role of India’s head coach after Ravi Shastri’s tenure ended, many had predicted that it will bring a positive change to the team environment and everyone will get to see Team India dominating world cricket.

However, things have not been easy for him as India lost the Test and ODI series in South Africa and had to settle for a draw even at home against the Proteas.

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Since November 2021, Rahul Dravid has coached India in eight T20I series, four Test assignments, and five ODI series. At the same time, Rahul Dravid has also managed the coaching duties in the Asia Cup 2022 and ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

With Team India’s exit from the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, Rahul Dravid and other senior India players have rested for the Tour of New Zealand 2022. Former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman coached India in the three-match T20I and ODI series.

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This is not the first time that VVS Laxman has been elevated to the role of India’s head coach. He previously essayed the role of a coach for India during the tours of Zimbabwe and Ireland and the recent ODI home series against South Africa.

Rahul Dravid was blamed for losing the ODI series against 7th-ranked Bangladesh. Team India’s last memorable series was in England in June, where they won both ODI and T20Is series but ever since August 2022, it has been all downhill.

India’s shortcomings were exposed when they failed to reach the final of the Asia Cup 2022 and then endured yet another semifinal defeat to England in a one-sided contest in the T20 World Cup 2022.

IND vs SL: 3 Reasons Why Rahul Dravid Should Be Stripped Off As India’s Head Coach

1. Poor Selection Calls

Rahul David has made some poor selection calls that have resulted in poor outcomes for the team. For instance, Rahul Dravid opted to pick Avesh Khan for the Asia Cup 2022 squad. However, the decision turned out to be wrong as the Indian pacer failed to perform well in the initial games itself.

Rahul Dravid also benched Yuzvendra Chahal in all games during ICC T20 World Cup 2022, a decision that was criticized by many. Many similar decisions have affected the team’s performance in the past. Recently, Rahul Dravid faced immense criticism for dropping chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav for the 2nd Test after being awarded Man of the Match in the 1st Test against Bangladesh.

2.  India’s Recent ODI Series Loss To Bangladesh

India’s recent ODI series loss against Bangladesh can be taken as a trigger point over Rahul Dravid’s position as head coach. In terms of ICC rankings, India is a far more powerful team than Bangladesh in ODIs.

India also had many key players in the squad during the ODI series against Bangladesh. Still, India faced a 2-1 loss in the series after losing the first two games. The ODI series against Bangladesh is a big black spot on India’s performance in 2022.

This put questions on Rahul Dravid’s role as India’s head coach. Batter Shikhar Dhawan (18 runs in 3 ODIs) failed in the ODI series against Bangladesh, while although Virat Kohli scored 113 runs in the last 3rd consequential ODI, he scored only 14 runs combined in the 1st two ODIs. Ishan Kishan replaced injured Rohit Sharma and he scored 222 runs in the 3rd inconsequential ODI.

3. Confusion Over Batting Slots

There were confusion over batting slots under Rahul Dravid’s tenure as Indian head coach.  At Edgbaston against hosts England, India sprung a surprise by promoting Rishabh Pant to open. But based on his current T20I career trajectory, it’s a move worth persisting with.

However, it resulted in Rishabh Pant losing his T20I form and added confusion on which position he will bat, harming his confidence. Rishabh Pant scored only 71 runs in 5 innings as the opener averaging a mere 14.2. His T20I average dropped to 22.43.

Deepak Hooda opened against Ireland in June 2022 and scored a 47*. He scored 104 against Ireland in June 2022. But he has batted from the opening slot to No. 7 in only 12 innings in T20Is averaging 33.56.  The confusion over his batting spot has harmed his confidence.

Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Rahul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah