Rahul Dravid Speaks On Future Of Senior Players After India's Humiliating Defeat Against England

Rahul Dravid PC: Indian coach talked about the future strategies and what lies ahead for the Indian team.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma with head coach Rahul Dravid during a practice session

Source : File Photo/PTI

As Team India crashed out of the 2022 T20 World Cup after England hammered Rohit Sharma-led team by 10 wickets in the second semi-final at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, India coach Rahul Dravid addressed the post-match press conference and said it is not the right time to talk about future of senior players, as reported by news agency PTI.

Not the right time to talk about future of senior players. We have two years of time and we will reflect on that: India head coach Rahul Dravid

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 10, 2022

“Disappointed finish in the semis. Would have liked to go in the finals. They were the better team in all departments. After a loss like this, it’s tough to reflect on things. Overall, we ran a pretty good campaign. Showed good skills. We can look back at things we have improved on and build it for the next World Cup. Runs on the board was something…in the semi-finals….we have been batting well in the tournament. It’s just that maybe when the game started, the boys said the wicket was slow and tacky. We had a good last over. We should have been able to get 180-185,” the former India captain said.

England thrashed the Indian team by 10 wickets on Thursday at the Adelaide Oval. The English openers Jos Buttler and Alex Hales built a mammoth partnership of 170 runs and helped England beat India in the second semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2022. England will now face Pakistan in the finals of the mega event. Skipper Jos Buttler made 80 runs in just 49 balls and Alex Hales came up with a quick-fire 86 off just 47 deliveries. 

Earlier, India batted first and scored 168 runs in 20 overs. Virat Kohli yet again starred with the bat and scored a brilliant half-century. Hardik Pandya too played a blinder as he made 63 runs in just 33 balls. Opener KL Rahul once again failed to deliver as he got out after scoring just 5 runs. 

India was nowhere near a competitor in the game. The match was entirely dominated by England in both innings. A poor showcase of captaincy by Rohit Sharma which highlighted his inability to rotate his bowlers. On the other hand, the England opening batsmen played with gusto and sent all the Indian balls on a merry-go-round of the Adelaide Oval. 

In the post-match presentation, Rohit Sharma said, "Pretty disappointed how it turned up today. We batted well at the backend to get that score. We were not upto the mark with the ball, we couldn't turn up today. It's all about handling the pressure in knockout games. All these guys have played enough to understand that. These guys have played under pressure in IPL games, it's all about keeping calm. We were nervy to start with, but you got to give credit to their openers, they played really well. I thought it swung a bit in the first over, but not from the right areas. We know the runs are scored square off the wicket, we were aware of it. When we won the first game, it showed a lot of character."

"It will be right up there for sure (referring to perfect innings). Huge occasion, India in a semifinal of a World Cup, really happy with the way I played and it is as special as it gets. This is one of the best grounds to bat in especially in the powerplay, a really good surface and great value for good cricket shots, this is a ground I have good memories of and enjoy batting here. I never thought I would play in a World Cup again, so to get the chance is a very special feeling, in a country (Australia) that I love and spend a lot of time in, tonight is one of the best night's of my career. Jos was unbelievable", Alex Hales said.