Rahul Dravid says services of Hafeez and Malik would be required in the final for Pak

The Wall of Indian Cricket, Rahul Dravid, in a recent interview, claimed that Pakistan would desperately require the services of Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy to be held this Sunday at Kennington Oval, London.

Dravid, in the long interview, also talked about India’s batting strategies in the tournament. Even though they have been subdued in the first 10 overs, they still managed to post over 300 consistently due to the firepower in the backend of their lineup.

The India ‘A’ coach also mentioned that it would be a good idea to promote Jadhav or Pandya in front of Yuvraj and Dhoni, to play the role of a pinch-hitter. Dravid also seemed psyched up for the contest in hand on Sunday. Dravid also cited out the name of Hasan Ali who would yet again be the key against India since he is the leading run-scorer in the tournament.

“People might question why are you only getting 4.8 run average in the first 10 but you know that’s how they like to set up their innings with Rohit (Sharma) and Shikhar (Dhawan), knowing fully well that they have got the power at the back end of the likes of you know, Hardik Pandya, (MS) Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Kedar Jadhav, (Ravindra) Jadeja” said Rahul Dravid according to the interview with ESPNcricinfo.

“So you know they have got some big power that can make up a lot of runs in the end as well, as long as they can keep wickets in hand, they play spin well through the middle as well. So look, I won’t change anything, India’s batting has been exceptional,” continued Dravid.

According to Dravid, the idea of promoting Jadhav and Pandya must be entertained. “It will be a case of pushing one of up through the middle, Jadhav is a very good player against spin we know that, he does take it on. And if you are in that position, I guess you could do that, push Pandya or Jadhav ahead of even Yuvraj and Dhoni and have a crack” added the India U-19 coach.

Time to step up for Malik and Hafeez: Dravid

“It’s a fantastic final. I guess Pakistan have something to prove, that they can put up a better performance than they did at the start of the tournament. They are going to need people like Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez, their two most experienced players to really step up if they want to win this game,” described an excited Rahul Dravid.

Dravid concluded by saying that India must be wary of Hasan Ali, who has taken the most number of wickets in the tournament. “One of the nice things about Hasan Ali is the length that he bowls. He pitches the ball up, he gets people to drive and I think that’s one of the reasons, in this kind of conditions, he takes wickets” ended Rahul Dravid