With the all-important Australian tour just round the corner, India's batting legend Rahul Dravid has come out with few words of advice for the Indian batsmen.
On the England tour, the Indian batsmen struggled after first two Tests and the batting unit could amass just one total over 300 in the last three matches. But Dravid says that playing in Australia will a different ball game and once the batsmen get set they can cash in on big runs.
"I think it's going to be a great challenge for India, I think Australia is a fantastic place to play cricket, especially in summer because of the nature of the wickets and the kind of crowds that come to watch the Test matches. Obviously you expect the wickets to have pace, bounce and good carry. Well, it's not the easiest challenge.
"One of the good things about playing in Australia is that the wickets are true so if you do get set, unlike England where the ball can swing and seam sometimes throughout the day, once you get set in Australia, you can score runs. It think it is a great challenge and there are lot of learnings from the Australian tour," Dravid said at a promotional event of Gillette.
Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara form the cornerstone of the Indian batting line-up but they faltered badly in the England Test series.
Kohli was often found wanting with his technique, poking outside the off stump and struggled especially against James Anderson. Pujara went into a shell too often. He got bogged down to start off with and struggled against incoming deliveries. His strike-rate in the Test series was 43.52 compared to his career strike-rate of 50.41 at that time.
Dravid feels that the biggest challenge for Kohli and Pujara will be knowing where their off stump is. Being positive and having a strong back foot game are the keys to success on Australian pitches.
"I think the real challenges are going to be again on and outside the off stump and the bounce that you have to counter. So knowing where your off stump is is going to be critically important even in Australia. Because, if you play balls on fifth stump, there is a good chance that you might actually end up nicking to the slips and edges do carry there. So knowing where your off stump is is very important in Australia. And being positive, I think, scoring runs in Australia when you get the opportunity, actually cashing in and having a strong back foot game are the few things not only Kohli and Pujara but the whole batting unit will have to work on."
In their last tour to Australia, in 2011-12, India had a horrid time as they suffered a 4-0 thrashing in the Test series at the hands of the hosts but Dravid is positive about better results this time around and feels that this young team is heading in the right direction.
"I am hoping there will be better results. If you look at India's record over the last three series, we came close in South Africa, we came close in New Zealand and then we won a Test match in England. So I think that's positive. At least I feel that they are going in the right direction. They have got the experience, this young team, but it's not going to be easy. I am not going to be standing here and saying India will win the series. But I am hoping they put up a good performance. The first part of the England tour went really well. Obviously the back three Test matches India struggled but I am hoping that they will have a little more consistency in this series. If they can, irrespective of results, actually play some good and competitive cricket then this could be the making of a really good Indian side for the future."
Dravid compared the current Indian side to the late 1990s and early 2000s team and emphasised on the fact there will be tough times but we need to be patient with this young crop.
"You got to give this young team a bit of time, you need to be patient because it happens with a young teams. I think this team is like the team we were in the late 1990s and early 2000s with a lot of young players coming through. And if this team develops and grows then you could see them having a really good run in the future. So you are going to need some patience, you going to have to see some tough times, some tough results. But if you are patient, hopefully these guys will pay you back."
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