Head coach Rahul Dravid of the Indian National Cricket Team has stated that they are working hard to finalize India’s top 18-20 players for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 as soon as possible.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 will be held in Australia in October-November, and India will be looking to win the tournament after a disappointing performance in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, which was held in the United Arab Emirates.
Rahul Dravid talks about finalizing India’s Top 20 Players
Rahul Dravid felt compelled to name a team of 20 players as soon as possible for the much-anticipated T20 World Cup 2022, which will be held in Australia this year. The Men in Blue, led by Virat Kohli, were unexpectedly knocked out of the T20 World Cup 2021 in the group stages, and this time the tournament will be led by new captain Rohit Sharma and coach Dravid. Until the recent South Africa series, the combination had been a huge success.
Despite the absence of regulars Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant’s India team suffered back-to-back heavy defeats in the first two games of the five-match series. They went on to level the series by playing the same side in the next two games, displaying a lot of character. The final game, however, was washed out, and the series ended 2-2.
Dravid, who has been watching the performances, said the series has opened his eyes, and he expects stiff competition once the big names return to the squad. The Indian team will be led by Hardik Pandya in the upcoming T20I series in Ireland.
With the current world’s uncertainties, Dravid stressed the importance of finalizing the squad ahead of the T20 World Cup. He estimates that 18 to 20 players will be needed for the tournament, with the number of players reduced to 15 for the mega-event. He added that injuries could arise in the meantime, but he was confident in his ability to complete the squad quickly.
“As you come closer and closer to the event, you want to firm up your final squad or if not, you want to have some contingencies in the kind of world we live in today. Obviously, you want to take only 15 to the World Cup but (need to identify) top 18 to 20 players,” Dravid said.
“Obviously, there could be odd changes due to injury and things that are beyond your control but we are going to start looking to firm up that squad as quickly as possible. Whether that will happen in the next series (Ireland) or series after that (England) is hard to tell but we are certainly looking to do that as quickly as possible,” he added.
