‘Rahul Dravid is installing the right mentality in his players’ - Michael Vaughan while crediting India's cricketing setup

Former England cricketer Michael Vaughan has praised Rahul Dravid for his work with the youngsters, who are coming through to the Indian team from the A-side. In recent times, many young players have come into the national side and performed quite well. Dravid, who has extensively worked with the India A and U-19 teams for the past few years, has got praises for the success of the young players. 

In the first ODI against England on Tuesday, India opted to play with debutants, Krunal Pandya and Prasidh Krishna. Both the players performed well and helped India to a 66-run victory. Krunal scored 58 runs from 31 balls while Krishna bowled a match-winning spell in which he got four wickets. Both these players had been part of the India A set-up for some time under Dravid. 

According to Vaughan, Dravid has infused the right attitude and mentality within the young players which have allowed them to come up and perform well on the international stage. Players like Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, and Shardul Thakur are among the rising stars in Indian cricket, all of whom have played under Dravid’s guidance for India A or U-19. 

Full credit to the system that India has produced: Michael Vaughan

“Whatever India are doing behind the scenes, I know we keep mentioning the IPL but I think Rahul Dravid with his A-side and development program is clearly installing the right mentality in his players. All these players are being brought through the system into the international India team which is a huge pressure cooker. Full credit to the system that India has produced, they are getting it absolutely right,” Vaughan told Cricbuzz. 

In the first ODI, Krishna went for more than 12 per over in the first spell which lasted for three overs. However, he turned the tide towards India’s favour by picking up the crucial wickets of Jason Roy and Ben Stokes. Vaughan explained why bowlers like Krishna are always successful in white-ball cricket. 

“To bounce back the way that he did today just shows that he is made of the right stuff. That’s why these kinds of bowlers are picked in white-ball cricket. They may go for a few runs, but they get wickets. They unsettle the batting unit,” Vaughan added.