Tatenda Taibu shares he received tips from Rahul Dravid to tackle Anil Kumble better

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Rahul Dravid during his stint as India A and U-19 coach.

Former Zimbabwe captain Tatenda Taibu has shared how useful tips from Rahul Dravid helped him play Anil Kumble better.

Tatenda Taibu received the advice after the India-Zimbabwe Test series in 2002, where he managed only 24 runs from two matches, falling thrice to Anil Kumble.

hen-Indian vice-captain Rahul Dravid advised Tatenda Taibu to play with his bat ahead of the pad.

“When Anil Kumble got me out 3 out of 4 times in my first 2 tests in India. I got advice from Dravid,(after match drinks) to play him like a slow medium pace bowler but WITH bat infront of the pads while still playing late. And mostly importantly watching the ball very closely. It can be learnt fairly easy. It’s just getting the timing of looking to come forward on the front foot without committing and WATCHING the ball as opposed to looking at the ball,” Tatenda Taibu replied to Kevin Pietersen’s tweet on Sunday.

Tetenda Taibu made his debut for Zimbabwe in 2001, aged only 18. He played 28 Tests for the African nation, scoring 1546 runs at an average of 30.31, with one century to his name.

When Anil Kumble got me out 3 out of 4 times in my first 2 tests in India.
I got advice from Dravid,(after match drinks) to play him like a slow medium pace bowler but WITH bat infront of the pads while still playing late. And mostly importantly watching the ball very closely.

— Tatenda Taibu (@taibu44) January 23, 2021

It can be learnt fairly easy. It's just getting the timing of looking to come forward on the front foot without committing and WATCHING the ball as opposed to looking at the ball.

— Tatenda Taibu (@taibu44) January 23, 2021

Tatendan Taibu was appointed Zimbabwe captain in April 2014, thus becoming the youngest Test skipper at the time. In July 2012, aged only 29, he retired from the sport.

When Rahul Dravid helped Kevin Pietersen improve his batting against spin

Kevin Pietersen tackling spin during the Ashes 2013.

After England openers Dom Sibley and Zack Crawley continued to struggle against the Sri Lanka spinners, Kevin Pietersen shared an email sent to him by Rahul Dravid regarding how to play spin better.

Hey @englandcricket, print this and give it to Sibley & Crawley.
They can call me to discuss it at length if they want...!
👍🏻 pic.twitter.com/qBmArq211s

— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) January 23, 2021

There was a phase in Kevin Pietersen’s career where he struggled against spin bowling, and it prompted the former England batsman to reach out to Rahul Dravid for advice.

Pietersen also shared the lengthy email in his book, ‘KP: The Autobiography’, and described the entire incident.

Rahul Dravid had advised the former England captain to try picking up the bowler’s length out of their hand in the nets. He also wanted Pietersen to play without pads against Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar in the nets in order to reach the length of the balls. 

Kevin Pietersen would later master spin bowling and became one of the key architects of England’s 2-1 Test series win in India in 2012-13.

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