Correct shots and the right words have often defined the Rahul Dravid persona. But at times he lets the mask slip and makes his point in a forceful manner. There was a distinct nip in the air outside but inside the press conference venue at the HPCA Stadium here on Saturday, a subtle heat was generated as the India coach reacted strongly to the average rating given to the pitches in Chennai and Ahmedabad by the ICC during the current World Cup.
Dravid had his counter ready: “I will respectfully disagree with the average rating given for those two wickets. They were good wickets. If you only want to see 350 games and rate only those wickets as good, then I disagree with that. You have to see different skills on display as well.”
The coach added: “It’s not as if we wanted to see only fours and sixes, then we might as well have T20 wickets. Why have spinners at all for that matter, if all you want to see is spinners come and bowl 10 overs and go for 60. And then one ball spins or two balls spin and you rate that as average. I disagree with that because I think we should see all skills on display including the ability to rotate strike through the middle.”
Dravid also lauded the spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav for the manner in which they bowled during the middle overs. “Our spinners have done a fantastic job. The way the three of them bowled in the first game and then obviously we played with Kuldeep and Jadeja in the next three games. Just the way they bowled, controlled games, took wickets and brought the run rate down, has been due to their skill and ability,” the coach said besides describing New Zealand as a ‘very good team.’
