Indian legend Rahul Dravid has backed ICC”s proposal of Test and ODI leagues and feels it will help to add context to the game, especially ODI Cricket.
Earlier this month ICC announced that Test Championship will get underway after 2019 World Cup. 9 teams will play 6 series over 2 years, 3 home and 3 away with each bilateral series not being less than 2 tests but maximum 5, depending on time. All matches will be played over five days, eventually leading to a World Test League Championship final.
The ODI league will have 12 members plus winners of World Cricket League Championship and will be direct qualification pathway towards world cups.
“I think having the context to especially ODI cricket and series is really important and sometimes in tri-series and bilateral series it can get a bit difficult to generate that level of context. But if you are having that sort of context towards a particular end goal in mind then surely something good can come out of it. If it creates that level of interest and context in bilateral series it will be a good thing.” said Dravid.
He also talked about the size of bats. New rules don”t allow the bats to be more than 108mm wide, 67 mm deep and edge not more than 40 mm.
“A change in the size will have an impact and the results of the games will show the effect,” he said. “Though the change won’t be too drastic as only a few players use such bats. However, it is also about the nature of the pitch and the size of the boundary that matter.” he quoted.
Dravid has done some outstanding work as a coach with India U-19 team and India A team over past few years since his retirement from professional cricket in 2013. Under his watchful eyes, India reached the final of U-19 WC last year.
“I have really enjoyed coaching since the past two years and it has been a great learning experience. However, just because I played cricket for a long time wasn’t enough to qualify as a good coach. Playing is one thing and managing people is actually a different ball game altogether, but that is the beauty of coaching,” he pointed out.
“One of my big focuses in trying to coach teams is that I don’t try to put an effort into coaching cricketers, but try to coach people as well. Since I have been through the journey of playing Under-19 cricket before, I do understand that they are under a lot of pressure and which is why I try to create a good team environment. My aim is to create such an environment where they can get the best out of their ability.” he added.
When asked whether it is time to give Virat Kohli rest, he answered, “Rotations are needed. There are a lot of matches being played, so you need to rotate the players. I think the management is taking the right decision. Everyone needs rest. Virat Kohli will get rest when he wants. I don”t know why there is so much of discussion and controversy,”
– by Atharva Apte
