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Following the disappointing loss at the hands of England in the first Test of the series in Hyderabad, Team India head coach Rahul Dravid stressed for the batters – youngsters, in particular – to improve on their techniques to adapt to the changing surface conditions in the subcontinent.
India faced a narrow 28-run defeat in Hyderabad as England mounted a comeback for the ages; after Ben Stokes‘ men trailed by 190 runs in the first innings, Ollie Pope put on a phenomenal batting show, smashing 196 and forging strong partnerships with the lower order to set India a challenging 231-run target. The hosts, who had been significantly aggressive in the first innings of the match, failed to soak the pressure as a batting collapse saw them being bowled out for 202.
Dravid said he doesn’t want to be “too harsh” while judging the younger crop of batters but wants them to develop their own methods for countering spin-friendly conditions. The head coach’s response came after a particular question on the out-of-form Shubman Gill, who had scores of 23 and 0 across the two innings.
“I wouldn’t be so harsh to judge them. But it was a challenging wicket, and it’s been a bit of a challenge for some of our young batsmen to adapt. But you know, they’ve got the skill,” Dravid said in his post-match press meet.
However, the batting legend expressed satisfaction with how junior batters have progressed.
“They’ve come here by scoring a lot of runs in domestic cricket. They are being picked on merit. Sometimes it does take time for people to adjust. They’re working really hard and there’s a lot of thought going into their batting,” the coach said without taking names.
“It’s just a question of them looking to constantly improve and develop skills that may help them counter these kinds of conditions a little bit better,” said Dravid.
Shubman Gill has endured a torrid start to his Test career, averaging only 29.53 in 21 Tests. The youngster took over long-term no.3 Cheteshwar Pujara’s place in the Test team, adding to the spotlight on Gill.
Team India will aim for a strong response in the Test series when the two sides meet for the second Test in Visakhapatnam on February 2.
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