India lacked balance in the ODIs against South Africa, admits head coach Rahul Dravid

Team India head coach Rahul Dravid has admitted that the current side that lost 0-3 to South Africa in the one-dayers lacked the right balance. The men in blues lacked all-rounders in the form of Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya that hurt the balance of the squad.

While the side did had Venkatesh Iyer in their ranks, the all-rounder is an unknown commodity at the international arena. He didn’t look in the best of form as India certainly missed an all-rounder in the ODIs.

When asked about India’s template in the ODIs considering that the 50-over World Cup is approaching thick and fast, Rahul Dravid admitted the absence of all-round options did hurt their balance.

“Yeah, we understand the template. Obviously, a large part of the template is also dependent on the balance of your squad,” Dravid said. 

“I think if you are a little bit honest, some of the guys who help us balance the the squad out and give us those all-round options at Nos 6, 7 and 8 are probably not here, and available for selection. Hopefully, when they (Hardik and Jadeja) come back, it will give us lot more depth, it allows us then to probably play in a slightly different style,” he added. 

“Idea is to develop people like Venkatesh Iyer as sixth bowling option” – Rahul Dravid

Venkatesh Iyer, who grabbed spotlight during the second phase of IPL 2021, has been tipped as Hardik Pandya’s like-for-like replacement. Rahul Dravid also asserted the all-rounder from Madhya Pradesh will have to fit himself in the middle-order if he wants to play white ball cricket for India.

“Idea is to develop people like Venkatesh Iyer as sixth bowling option. Whether its Venkatesh or whether its Hardik when he potentially comes back and we have got option of someone like a Jadeja, who can potentially bat at No 6 in certain times when he is back, that will give us a lot more options,” Dravid concluded.