Theres Rahul, theres Samson but’: Dravid namedrops Dhoni in epic statement | Cricket

With India missing the services of injured gloveman Rishabh Pant in the World Cup year, the Rahul Dravid-coached team has experienced Ishan Kishan after the tried and tested KL Rahul was unavailable for the New Zealand series due to personal reasons. Former Indian Vice-Captain Rahul was Sri Lanka’s first wicketkeeper in the series, while an in-form Kishan returned to the playing eleven for the three One Day Internationals (ODIs) against New Zealand. Ignored by Sri Lanka’s ODI selectors, skipper Rohit has branded Kishan as the automatic starter after Rahul and Shreyas Iyer were ruled out of the New Zealand series.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference on Monday ahead of the third ODI against the Black Caps, the head coach was asked if Team India is looking for a wicketkeeper-batsman like Dravid ahead of the 2023 World Cup. To accommodate talented youngsters like Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag, a specialist hospital like Dravid became India’s Full Time wicketkeeper in the early 2000s.

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Batting icon Dravid famously wore the team man’s gloves for Sourav Ganguly-led Team India in the 2003 World Cup. Knowing the reporter’s question, the Indian head coach specifically mentioned legendary wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni before praising the younger crop of wicketkeepers. During his playing days, batting legend Dravid was relieved of his wicketkeeping duties with the arrival of Parthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik and Dhoni.

We’re always looking for a point guard, there’s no doubt about that. I think after having MS Dhoni in white ball cricket, the days of special moves are unfortunately gone. We are fortunate and we are lucky that all the competitors, even in this team you know whether it is Ishan Kishan or KS Bharat, they are both good batsmen and have done well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Bharat has not played but Ishan has obviously done well as a batsman,” Dravid told reporters ahead of the third ODI against New Zealand.

Kishan, who will keep score for India in Rahul’s absence, was also brought into the Test squad for the first two Tests of the high-profile Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. Kishan got his maiden Test call after his remarkable run in the limited overs format. The explosive Indian opener stunned the cricket fraternity with a sensational double century against Bangladesh in the third ODI in December last year.

Kishan will be up against Srikar Bharati, who has also been named in Australia’s Test squad. The same duo is also part of the ODI side in the ongoing series against New Zealand. Then there is Jitesh Sharma in the mix. The Vidarbha batsman earned a maiden call-up in Sri Lanka’s T20Is. The Punjab Kings star had replaced batsman Sanju Samson, who was ruled out of the T20I series due to a knee injury. Jitesh has retained his place in India’s T20I side for the three-match series against New Zealand

“Rahul is there, Samson is there but unfortunately Rishabh is injured. All these guys are wicket-keeper batsmen. I think today you have to be a wicket-keeper batsman. You should be able to bat and contribute significantly. have also picked Jitesh Sharma in the T20 mix because he bats and runs to the target at a very fast pace as he has shown in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the IPL.So yes it has now been given to all teams We need a batsman, Dravid added.