Just a day prior to India’s first T20I match against New Zealand at the Sky Stadium in Wellington on Thursday, November 18, former India head coach Ravi Shastri questioned Rahul Dravid and his support staff for taking a break, despite the team failing to clinch the T20 World Cup.
In their absence, NCA chief VVS Laxman has been handed coaching duties to fill Dravid’s void. He (Laxman) is being assisted by NCA coaches like Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Sairaj Bahutule on the tour. Dravid, batting coach Vikram Rathour and bowling coach Paras Mhambrey are scheduled to return before the team leaves for Bangladesh for an ODI and Test series in December.
Shastri, in a virtual press conference ahead of the First T20I, stated how he never believes in taking breaks and mentioned that the coaching staff is always required to stay with the team as it helps them to understand how different players react in different situations. The 60-year-old also reminded that every coach gets at least a 2-3 month break during IPL and that according to the former World Champion is enough.
However, India's off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin doesn’t agree with Shastri and stated the reason why the coaching staff is on a break. The 36-year-old on his YouTube channel spoke about the hardships Rahul Dravid and co. have gone through during the T20 World Cup and mentioned how it can lead to mental and physical fatigue.
They would have been under not only mental but also physical burnout: Ravi Ashwin
“I will explain why Laxman has gone there with a completely different team because even that could be interpreted differently. Rahul Dravid and his team put in extensive hard work ahead of the T20 World Cup, right from planning, since I saw this from close quarters, I'm saying this.
They had specific in-depth plans for each venue and each opposition. So they would have been under not only mental but also physical burnout and everyone needed a break. As soon as the New Zealand series ends, we have the Bangladesh tour. That's why we have a different coaching staff led by Laxman for this tour,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
In the meantime, India’s first T20I in Wellington was called off due to heavy rain. The Men in Blue will now travel to Bay Oval for their second T20I on November 20.
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