IND vs SL: Rahul Dravid backs Indian pacers following horror show in 2nd T20I

Team India's winning streak against Sri Lanka in home T20Is came to a halt on Thursday, January 5, after the visitors ran out victors in an enthralling clash in Pune. While the young Indian left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh had a mare with the ball, head coach Rahul Dravid backed his bowlers, urging people to be patient with them since they are still in their nascent international careers.

Sri Lanka defeated India by 16 runs after setting a mammoth target of 207 runs for the hosts. Even though Axar Patel and Suryakumar Yadav made a miraculous recovery for the hosts following a top-order collapse, the damage was done by the Sri Lankan batters in the first innings. The Indian pacers, especially Arshdeep Singh and Shivam Mavi, who conceded 90 runs in their six combined overs, looked clueless against the Lankan batters.

Arshdeep, who made his return to the team after missing the series opener at the Wankhede, dished out one of the worst performances by an Indian bowler on home soil, bowling five no-balls in his two overs. However, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid was not too critical of the young bowlers as he feels performances like these are a part of the learning curve. He advised people to be patient with them since they are very young and still developing their trade at the highest level.

“Nobody wants to bowl wides (no-balls) in any format. Especially in T20s, they can hurt you. We need to be patient with lot of these young kids. There are a lot of youngsters playing in this team, especially our bowling attack. They are young kids; they will have games like these at times. We all need to be patient with them and understanding. Of course, they are working hard, and we keep trying to help them, support them technically, and also just create the right environment for them to be able to get the best out of their skills,” Dravid said in the post-match conference.

With the ODI World Cup scheduled to be held later this year in India, the hosts have shifted their focus on the longer format, leaving ample room for budding stars to showcase their skills in T20Is.

“It’s tough. It’s not easy learning in international cricket and you have to learn on the job. The good thing is, with the focus on the ODI World Cup and the World Test Championship, at least in the T20Is, it gives us an opportunity to try out a lot of the younger guys,” Dravid added. 

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