"I could have told you 18 months ago that who would have been the candidates that we are looking for at No.4 and No.5" - Rahul Dravid
Team India head coach Rahul Dravid feels that the chatter over the team's middle order has been over-hyped to a great extent. He blamed the untimely nature of the injuries and their severity as the reason behind the lack of clarity over something that was not a problem at one point in time.
There were concerns surrounding the No.4 and No.5 spots with Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul out of action due to injuries. The likes of Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav were given opportunities but they failed to make a mark.
Rahul Dravid revealed that the management always viewed the trio of KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant for the middle-order positions in the World Cup.
"The No.4 and No.5 spots are talked about a lot, and it gives the impression that we do not have clarity over who is going to be there," Dravid said. "I could have told you 18 or 19 months ago who would have been the candidates that we are looking for the No.4 or No.5 spot that we are looking for the World Cup. It was always going to be between Shreyas, KL and Rishabh."
Dravid further stated that all of the aforementioned players being ruled out at the same time did not help the situation.
"There was no doubt in our mind that these three would be in the running. Obviously, it is unfortunate that all three in that position ended up with injuries in the space of a few months. What are the odds of that happening? Nobody can calculate for that," he continued.
Rishabh Pant was the first candidate to be out of contention following his unfortunate car accident in December 2022. Rahul and Iyer sustained injuries in the first half of 2023 and are set to mark their returns soon in the 2023 Asia Cup.
"This word 'experimentation' is being thrown around a lot" - Rahul Dravid
A constant criticism that has enveloped the management in recent times has been the constant chopping and changing of the playing XI as well as approach-wise in terms of alteration of the batting order and other aspects.
Clarifying that such decisions are made because of a reason and not just for the sake of experimenting, Rahul Dravid said:
"To be honest, this word 'experimentation', is being thrown around a lot, without being thought through. I mean, it is not like we experiment just for the sake of experimentation. sometimes there are specific reasons why you have to do certain things."
Recently during the Asia Cup squad announcement, Team India skipper Rohit Sharma also explained what he means by flexibility in the batting order. With the World Cup nearing, it is unlikley that the side will head down that road again, unless they are hit with any injuries.
Team India squad members are currently invovled in a preparatory camp in Alur which began from August 25.