Newly-recruited India chief coach Rahul Dravid states the 3-0 aftermath over New Zealand heralds well for the team in the long-run but at the same time, he is realistic enough to not read too much into the overall result with Black Caps having to play the series 72 hours after the T20 World Cup final.
Some of the pivotal players from both teams were relaxed for the series as part of workload management. “It was a really good series win. Everyone played really well right through the series. It feels good, nice to start well. We are also quite realistic.
“We have to keep our feet on the ground and be a bit realistic about this win,” Dravid stated at the post-match presentation.
The series was also Dravid’s first duty as head coach. NZ had reached Jaipur for the series starter less than 24 hours after losing the T20 WC final to Australia in Dubai.
“Not easy for NZ to play a World Cup final and then to turn up three days later and play three games in six days, was never going to be easy for them. It was nice from our perspective but we have to learn from this series and move forward.”
“It’s a long journey ahead over the next two years and we’ll have our share of ups and downs.”
India also relaxed some of their vital players like Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja. New Zealand gave rest to their star Kane Williamson.
“It’s been really good to see some of the young guys come through. We have given opportunities to some of the boys who haven’t played a lot of cricket over the last few months.”
“We have seen some of the skills available to us and we have to keep building on those skills as we go forward. It’s going to be a long season between now and the next World Cup being realistic with how much cricket some of our experienced players will play,” Dravid signed off.
