Rahul Dravid with the Indian team
Reflexes
- Coach Dravid refuses to reveal who will play XI
- Dravid gave three options for the opening position
- Fifth India-England test match at Edgbaston from Friday
India team head coach Rahul Dravid said a lot of things ahead of the fifth test against England, he made a lot of disclosures but he did not say what the India team XI would be in this match. In response to these questions, he said so much that he has different combinations in his mind for different situations.
Coach Dravid has three options for the opening position
According to Dravid, the playing XI will be decided taking into account the mood of the field and Rohit Sharma’s recovery from Kovid. Coach Dravid said Rohit has not yet been ruled out of the Edgbaston trial. However, if Rohit’s Kovid test does not come back negative, then the Indian team will need a captain and a starter.
Dravid has the first option for the opening position
Mayank Agarwal joined the team in England as a cover for Rohit. It may be the natural choice for the Karnataka batsman to replace the hit man in the opening slot. But coach Dravid has deepened the suspense by saying management has two more options instead of Rohit.
Dravid has another option for the opening position.
Speaking to the media ahead of Test 5 at Edgbaston, Dravid said: “We will make a decision. We have to take a lot of things into account. Of course Mayank is a regular starter. We also have other options, Bharat has shown his talent by opening several games for Andhra Pradesh. He is batting brilliantly at the moment. He scored 70 against Leicestershire and 43 in the opening, we have a lot on our minds.
Third choice for Dravid’s opening position
Coach Rahul Dravid is also eyeing Cheteshwar Pujara as a third option for the fly-half position. Pujara, who has been the team’s wall at number three for many years, has so far scored 395 runs in seven innings, including two half-centuries and 145 against Sri Lanka in 2015.
The coach said of his choice to join Pujara: “Pujara has many unique qualities. He has also opened for India. We have these things in mind, we know where we are going. We’ll see what happens with Rohit, but I can’t reveal the XI in play. But we all know.”