"It is being seen more after Rahul Dravid has come in" - Saba Karim on continuity in Team India's selections
Saba Karim feels there has been more consistency in Team India's selections since Rahul Dravid took over as the national side's head coach.
The Men in Blue will face South Africa in a five-match T20I series, with the first game to be played on June 9 in Delhi. An 18-member Indian squad has been selected for the series, with KL Rahul at the helm in Rohit Sharma's absence.
During a discussion on India News, Saba Karim was asked if there was more continuity in team selections under Rahul Dravid than was there under Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri. He responded:
"It is being seen more after Rahul Dravid has come in and it is correct as well. Every captain or coach will want that there should be continuity in his team, how the captain or coach gives comfort to their players that they are there to take care of them and they should play freely."
The former India selector pointed out that frequent team changes instill insecurity in the players. Saba Karim explained:
"If the selectors don't agree with that and pick the team according to them, it is difficult to have a conducive environment in the team, a player is always insecure, he feels that he will be out of the team if he doesn't score runs or picks wickets in one or two matches."
Saba Karim believes Rohit and Dravid seem to think alike in this department. He elaborated:
"I feel Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma's thinking is that they will always back players who they think have the potential to perform. He can go through a bad patch but you should not make too many changes in the team."
The likes of Rohit, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah are taking a break during the T20I series against South Africa. However, the selectors have stuck with the tried-and-tested players even though some of them had an indifferent IPL 2022.
"There should be some continuity" - Saba Karim on Ishan Kishan's selection in India's T20I side
Saba was also asked about Ishan Kishan being persisted with despite a slightly indifferent IPL 2022. He replied:
"I can understand why he has been picked because the selectors' thinking is that there should be some continuity. If you keep changing your team based on one IPL tournament, you will not be able to provide the security that is required to be given to the team members."
Ishan Kishan IPL 2022 stats:-
Matches :- 14
Runs :- 418
Average :- 32.15
50s :- 3
Strike rate :- 121.11
He wasn't that bad. His two knocks, 14(21) aganist kkr & 8(20) against Lsg went negative for MI & for his overall strike rate. https://t.co/23NLP5NNBt
The former India wicketkeeper-batter pointed out that most of the players who were part of the Indian side earlier have been retained. Saba Karim observed:
"The selectors' thinking is correct, for instance, they had chosen Harshal Patel before the IPL, he has also been kept. Suryakumar Yadav would have also been there in the team if he was fit. Deepak Hooda was also there in the team earlier, that is why he has been kept, Venkatesh Iyer is also in the team."
Venkatesh Iyer in IPL 2022
11 innings
182 runs
Vs MI
50* and 43 in 2 innings
Vs others
89 runs in 9 innings
Venkatesh Iyer has been retained in the Indian team despite a rather poor IPL 2022. The batting all-rounder managed just 182 runs at a dismal average of 16.54 and was extremely expensive in the four overs he bowled in the tournament.