"Coming second is no longer an option" - Aakash Chopra wants Rahul Dravid to address India's knockout woes
Aakash Chopra wants Team India's new head coach Rahul Dravid to address the team's pressure-handling woes in ICC events and knockout matches.
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra flagged India's sustained failures in do-or-die matches since 2013. He remarked that after so many years with a strong team, "coming second is no longer an option."
He added that Rahul Dravid will have to create a team culture where players express themselves freely even in knockout matches.
Aakash Chopra said:
"Let's try and address the elephant in the room... which is that we don't win ICC knockout matches. Since the 2013 Champions Trophy, we have always lost in knockout matches. So there's something that needs to be changed, right? Our main players don't perform in these games so is there something lacking? That's something he will have to address because coming second is no longer an option."
Chopra added:
"The kind of team we have it's not far-fetched or unfair to expect them to win. So Rahul will have to create a culture where the team plays freely even in knockout matches. He will have to create such a philosophy where the type of match won't alter the playing style."
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This weakness for Men in Blue has been exposed in the ongoing T20 World Cup as well. When faced with a virtual quarter-final against New Zealand, the batters crumbled under pressure and failed to stick to their natural games. Skipper Virat Kohli, too, had pinned down the eight-wicket defeat to a "timid outing".
Check out this list of T20 World Cup winners from 2007 to 2016 here.
"Rahul Dravid will have to find new all-rounders" - Aakash Chopra
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Further, Aakash Chopra said during his two-year term Rahul Dravid will have to try and groom some all-rounders for India. He said instead of looking for proper batters for the next generation, India will have to bring in "package" players who add more than one skill to the team, at least in the shortest format.
Aakash Chopra concluded:
"Another challenge and job that Rahul Dravid will have to do will be to find new all-rounders... You can't get the current top-6 to bowl but the next generation that you are preparing right now, you'll have to start picking such players in it... You might take a slightly inferior batsman if he can give you a few overs because then he's a better package. Instead of a better batsman go for a better package. This revolution will have to come. You will have to start rewarding players with more than one skill. In T20 cricket, only batting or only bowling doesn't work. If you have to win the 2023 World Cup, you'll need all-rounders."
Rahul Dravid's coaching tenure will begin with a T20I series against New Zealand in November. Meanwhile, Team India will be back in action tomorrow, playing against Scotland in Abu Dhabi.