Lending madness to method

PTI

Hyderabad, January 23

Head coach Rahul Dravid did not see the Indian batters replying kindly to England’s Bazball but said they will not be taking a backward step in the five-match Test series beginning here from Thursday.

Dravid said India will formulate their game plans as per the situations that the match throws up at them in the rubber.

Rahul won’t play as wicketkeeper

Hyderabad: India head coach Rahul Dravid today said KL Rahul will not be keeping wickets in the five-match Test series against England, and it will be a toss-up between KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel for the wicketkeeper-batter role. “Rahul will not be playing as a wicketkeeper in this series and we are clear about that in the selection itself. We have picked two other wicketkeepers and obviously Rahul did a fantastic job for us in South Africa and really played a big part in helping us draw the series,” Dravid said.

“I don’t think we are going out there to try to be ultra-attacking. I think we look to play what’s in front of us, what the situation demands. But by nature, if you look at our top six-seven batsmen, there are a lot of guys who are naturally positive and look to take the game on.

“So, they’re not going to be looking to change that in any particular way. There’ll be some different situations in which we may need to look to push the game along or we might have to bat for long periods. But I can’t see any of my batsmen taking a backward step or look to be defensive,” Dravid said today.

However, Dravid did not have much doubt that England would come hard at the hosts in the series, and hoped that his team would use the experience in these conditions to respond positively to the challenge.

“It’s been exciting to watch them play and you know they’ve had success playing like that. They’ve done well in Pakistan. They’ve won in New Zealand and had a really exciting series against Australia in the Ashes as well. So, we have to respect that. But we know that it’s going to be a challenge for them in these conditions because these are conditions we know very well. We’ve got a lot of experience in our attack. I’m looking forward to seeing how our boys respond, because I know that we will be put under pressure,” said Dravid.

Spin-friendly track?

Dravid’s words contained a mild warning to the England camp as well when he said the pitch for the first Test would offer assistance to spinners as the game moves on.

Ahead of the first Test, pitch here spotted a dry look, especially from the good length area on either side of it.

“Hard one to say (nature of pitch). We will have a look once it (match) starts and figure it out. It looks a good one from what I’ve seen,” Dravid said, adding, “but may spin a little bit. How quickly and how fast, I’m not sure. But it might spin a little bit certainly as the game goes on.”

Fast bowler Mark Wood, on the other hand, admitted that the England camp has had a discussion about the nature of pitch but without creating a bedlam in their minds.

“We’ve discussed the pitch. But I wouldn’t say we discuss it at that length to worry about it. We have enough self-belief in our group that we can do something special. We’ve got spinners, we’ve got seam, we’ve got good batters and we’ve got a good recent history behind us,” Wood said.

He, however, acknowledged that the England players will have to do well on the tracks on offer during the series.

“We know that this is a massive task. It’s not good coming here and rolling over thinking it’s going to be tough because the pitches are not what we’re used to. We have to find a way. “We’ll adapt,” he said.

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