CHENNAI: It was after a loss against Australia in a bilateral ODI series a few months ago that captain Rohit Sharma sounded worried about the fact that the team would have to travel to nine venues across the country during the group stages of the World Cup.
There's absolutely no doubt that the travelling will be hectic, but coach Rahul Dravid feels the team should look to embrace the unity in diversity rather than looking at it with a sense of trepidation.
"We have to travel to nine cities and we have to play in front of our Indians fans and this is an opportunity for us, we can show our skills to them," the Indian coach said ahead of India's practice session on Friday.
The coach feels "it is like a festival" and it's great that fans across the country will get to see their heroes from close quarters. "I am hoping it's not nine, we will get to travel to 11 venues so that it becomes a memorable occasion for the fans," Dravid said, indicating that he has full confidence that the team will go all the way.
While Dravid preferred to see the bigger picture, India's schedule is way more punishing than their arch-rivals Pakistan, who play only in five venues - Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Ahmedabad - during the group stage. It is obviously done with security issues in mind, but India are the only team that is not playing two league games in one centre.
It will mean that India won't be getting used to the conditions in any venue, shuttling across the country. But Dravid was adamant that it's not going to decide how far they go in the tournament. In fact, Dravid said that the nature of the pitch or the reading of it won't decide who's going to win the World Cup. "We can try to read the pitches as much as we want, but in the end it is about how you execute on it, how one adapts to the conditions," the master batsman who played three World Cups for India, said.
More the 'Chin' than 'Ra': Dravid on Rachin
Dravid was at his wittiest best when somebody asked him about New Zealand left-hander Rachin Ravindra. "How do you feel about the fact that the boy has been named after you and Sachin?" a journalist asked.
"I have seen him save a Test match against us a couple of years ago. He is a good player…But on Thursday, I think it was the 'Chin' of his name that was playing a bigger role than the 'Ra'," Dravid said. The reference obviously was about Sachin's attacking instincts than his own defensive self.
