'They are playing really well' - Rahul Dravid ready to face challenging English side under Ben Stokes

India’s recently concluded five-match T20I series against South Africa saw some big names missing from the limited-overs squad in preparation for the one-off test match against England next month. Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has weighed his opinion on facing a revitalized English Test side under the leadership of Ben Stokes.

The final Test match of India’s tour of England last year was abandoned after a covid outbreak in the Indian squad. The Indian team are set to play the fifth and remaining Test match from last year’s series on July 1st. While the India team will be without the services of mercurial opener KL Rahul, they will be strengthened by the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to the squad.

Rahul Dravid mentioned that it may be a one-off Test match for the new coaching staff, but the players who were part of the Indian team last year would like to perform well and finish the job as the series will be on the line in that match and they wouldn’t want to undo all the good work that they did last year.

“In terms of the Test match, it is obviously going to be exciting. For us, it is a one-off Test match, but it’s WTC points. It’s a series on the line for the guys who played a part in it [last year], and they are very keen to try and win that series and do well. So looking forward to that,” Dravid said on Sunday in Bengaluru as quoted by India Today.

I love watching Test cricket, love playing it, love coaching it: Rahul Dravid

The Indian Head coach is excited at the prospect of facing the current England squad under Ben Stokes, who are playing fearless cricket under Brendon McCullum’s guidance. The former Indian cricketer believes that it will be a tougher challenge for his team this time around as the English team is playing good cricket and are showing no signs of restraints.

“It’s probably a bit different to when we were there last year when England was probably a little bit on the back foot. But they have played a couple of good games [against New Zealand], and we have got a pretty good squad as well. Hopefully, it will be a good match. [I] love watching Test cricket, love playing it, love coaching it. Looking forward to it,” Dravid said.