The Indian national men’s cricket team faced significant criticism after their disheartening defeat against West Indies in the recently concluded five-match T20I series. Amid questions about the team’s strategies and performance, attention has shifted to the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 and the potential changes to the squad.
India suffered an eight-wicket loss in the series decider against West Indies in Lauderhill, Florida, despite the fact that the Caribbean team failed to qualify for the forthcoming ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023.
Following this defeat, during the post-match presentation, Team India’s head coach, Rahul Dravid, was faced with inquiries about the team’s approach for the Asia Cup 2023. Dravid provided intriguing hints regarding the return of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, both of whom have been sidelined due to injuries. Both players have shown positive signs in recent times and have commenced their training at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
“We have a few guys coming back from injuries in any case. We have to give them opportunities to play (in Asia Cup). We have a one-week camp in Bengaluru [at NCA] from August 23 for the Asia Cup. We will take it as it comes,” Rahul Dravid mentioned.
KL Rahul sustained a thigh injury during the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 and had to exit the tournament midway while representing the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Conversely, Shreyas Iyer faced a back injury ahead of the IPL 2023.
Both players hold crucial roles for India in the upcoming ICC events, including the Asia Cup 2023. Despite experimenting with various players, the Indian team has struggled to find worthy replacements for Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul.
Dravid also touched on the challenges he encountered with the T20I squad during the Caribbean tour, where many new faces were introduced. “Regarding the squad, we had in the Caribbean, we probably did not have the flexibility to change the combinations,” he noted.
Moreover, Dravid elaborated on the management’s goals in testing different combinations throughout the West Indies tour, which encompassed 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, and 5 T20Is. “But I think in the future, we can look at specific areas to get better – depth in the batting is one area we are trying to address. But we also do not want to weaken our bowling attack to ensure our batting goes bigger. We have challenges on that front, and we need to work on that,” he explained. As India prepares for the Asia Cup 2023, the hints dropped by the coach suggest potential changes that could have a significant impact on the squad’s composition and performance in the upcoming tournament.