'Narrowed Down Core Team To 17-18 Players For 2023 ODI World Cup': Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid asserted that the team management have got a lot more clarity at the end of these nine games irrespective of what happens tomorrow in IND vs AUS 3rd ODI at Chennai.

With the three-match ODI series leveled at 1-1, India will play the series decider against Australia on Wednesday.

Indian cricket team's head coach Rahul Dravid revealed that the management has narrowed down the core team to “17-18” players for 2023 ODI World Cup. The high-octane 50-overs ICC tournament will be hosted on Indian soil in October-November this year.

"Probably not going to get too many more games in our conditions. We had the opportunity to play in these conditions which is great. Yeah, coming out of the IPL to a large extent we are pretty clear about the kind of squad and the players we want. We have narrowed it down to 17-18 players,” Dravid told media on Wednesday ahead of India vs Australia 3rd One-Day-International match at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai.

Did Rahul Dravid achieve what he had set out to in nine home ODIs, keeping World Cup in mind? "We have to a large extent. We have got a lot more clarity at the end of these nine games irrespective of what happens tomorrow. We need to keep building on that clarity.

"For us it is now the different playing XI combinations and just ensuring that we play different combinations at times just to ensure that we are able to do that in the World Cup and we are not surprised by anything in the World Cup," Dravid was quoted as saying by PTI on Tuesday.

Dravid rued absence of an injured Shreyas Iyer, who had been earmarked to bat at No. 4 in the World Cup. The coach at the same time was sympathetic towards Suryakumar Yadav, who hasn't yet set the ODI stage on fore unlike T20 format.

"Obviously. it is unfortunate for Shreyas to get injured. He is probably one of those guys who would bat at No.4 and given a lot of time at that position. If you notice we have stuck to the people in positions. For two years leading into this run, there is a lot of T20 cricket played and we did not have a lot of one-day cricket and if there are injuries and all that, we do have options."

Surya's first-ball ducks isn't really worrying Dravid.

"Not really concerned about Surya. He got two very good balls. One of things about Surya is that he is learning the 50-overs game. The T20 is slightly different. In T20, he has played 10 years of IPL.

"He (Surya) has played a lot of T20 cricket. He has played a lot of high pressure T20 games. Even though he has played a lot of t20 cricket I think he has not played a lot of one-day cricket. We need to give him some time and be patient with it. We certainly see the upside of him doing well."

(With PTI Inputs)