Follow UsHardik Pandya bagged the man of the match award in the IPL final thanks to his all-round performance, especially with the ball that broke Rajasthan Royals’ back. Pandya was amazing throughout the IPL in every single aspect - batting at No.4 to anchor the innings, bowling crucial overs and leading from the front strategically. That earned him a spot in India’s T20 squad yet again, something that is exciting for Rahul Dravid, but he indicated that Pandya needs to bowl more in order to be a certainty in the side.
“It is great we have got a lot of Indian captains doing well in the IPL. Hardik was one of them, Rahul did very well for LSG, Sanju captained RR. Shreyas did it at KKR as well. It helps people grow and develop as players. It really helps you grow as a person also, having to make decisions. It is great from our perspective to see that,” Dravid said in the pre-series press conference in New Delhi.
Elaborating on Pandya, Dravid said, “At this point of time, it is really about from our perspective is that he has started bowling again. You know what that does to us, what depth it brings to the side. So for us really, it would be about ensuring we get the best out of him as a cricketer, in terms of his bowling, in terms of his batting.”
Indian selectors have picked the likes of Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh for the five-match T20 series, starting on June 9 in Delhi. Malik was terrific with the ball, but what caught the eye was his pace which was never seen before in Indian cricket. While that certainly excites Rahul Dravid, he has a very realistic expectation of his pacer, knowing that Umran can translate to become a good red-ball bowler as well.
"It is exciting. He certainly bowled quick and with pace. Another thing that has been interesting for me watching the IPL from the outside is the number of Indian bowlers bowling fast. And obviously, being the coach of all three formats of the game, I would love to see that translated into the longer formats of the game. But it is brilliant in terms of watching Umran in the nets, you can see that he has got that pace," said Dravid.
"Obviously, he is learning. He is a young boy and he is getting better, and improving. The more he is able to play, the better he is going to get. From our, perspective, very happy to have someone like him in the mix. We have to see how much playing time we can give him, we need to be realistic, we have a large squad, and it is not possible to give everyone playing XI time.
"I think I am certainly someone who likes to have that consistency, give people te and let them feel settled in their positions. It would be an interesting time to see how much playing time we give to Umran, we also have Arshdeep here who is brilliant as well. We have experience in the form of guys who have been with us before, Harshal, Bhuvi, and Avesh. There are certain things we need to look at but it is nice and exciting to have a couple of young guys in the mix as well. It has given an opportunity for us to broaden our pool and see what they can do," he added.
After the first T20I in Delhi, the action shifts to Cuttack (June 12), Visakhapatnam (June 14) for the next two T20Is before the five-match series concludes in Rajkot (June 17) and finally in Bengaluru (June 19).