If it’s high-scoring game, then you want your players to maintain strike rate: Rahul Dravid

Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has demanded his players to maintain a strike rate in high-scoring matches without pointing a finger at particular players. He was addressing the media in a virtual press conference ahead of tomorrow’s first T20I game against South Africa. Indian management decided to rest their two top-order star players, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, for this five-match T20I series at home.

Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli endured a poor Indian Premier League 2022 season last month. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma struggled to score a single fifty this season with just 268 runs at the strike rate of 120.17. He was also criticized for his leadership calls regarding not picking up Tim David in earlier matches and consistently changing the bowling unit throughout the season. On the other hand, Virat Kohli had a better tournament compared to his national team’s skipper.

Kohli managed to score 341 runs but at the end of the season, his strike rate was 115.99. He played a crucial knock of 73 runs against Titans to guide RCB to the knockout stages but failed to make an impact in the second qualifier clash.

The former legendary batter also added that players need to maintain strike rate and also develop their innings in challenging situations. The South African side has announced a very strong lineup for the India tour and is expected to give a tough competition to the world’s number one team.

“If it’s a high-scoring game, then obviously you want your players to maintain the strike rate. If the wicket is more challenging, then they have to respond to that as well,” said Dravid in the virtual press conference.

Rahul Dravid believes in India’s ‘top three’

India is set to go with Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli as a formidable top-order force in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Rahul Dravid has praised this trio as ‘top quality’ but is also confident in other players featuring in place of rested duo Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Ruturaj Gaikwad is expected to open with KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer would be coming on number three in the first match against South Africa tomorrow.

“I’m confident anyone in the top three will be able to play the role according to the situation of the match. We know our top three’s quality. They are top class. There will be a slightly different top three in this series but what we are looking for (in general) is a good positive start and playing according to the situation,” he concluded.