Team India head coach Rahul Dravid (AFP Image)
Shubman Gill has become a regular in India’s XI across all three formats while Yashasvi Jaiswal started his Test career with a sublime century.
Team India head coach Rahul Dravid hailed the domestic cricket set-up for the success of young talents like Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal in recent times. Shubman has been the consistent performer with the bat for India across formats in the last few months, while Jaiswal made a scintillating Test debut with a 171-run knock against West Indies in the first Test.
The Indian team have started a transitional phase in T20Is and Test cricket as they brought in young players from the domestic set-up in the senior team.
Shubman has become a regular in India’s XI across all three formats while the century on debut gave Jaiswal an extra cushion to get more chances in Test cricket. Ishan Kishan is another youngster who Team India has backed in recent times and he has done well in the limited opportunities he got thus far.
Dravid credited the domestic set-up or the success of the youngsters and said that a relaxed environment has been created in the Indian team for them to express themselves.
“It’s a tribute to the domestic system,” Dravid said on the eve of the second Test in Port-of-Spain beginning on Thursday. “It’s a tribute to the environment around the team that a lot of young players are able to come in and perform straightaway. A lot of credit should go to the domestic system for producing these kind of players, especially in the batting department, and also the relaxed environment the team here has been able to create to allow young players to come and express themselves.
He further pointed out the young players who have done well for the Indian team recently.
“So it’s nice from our perspective as a coach to see young players come in, perform straightaway and do really well, whether it’s Yashasvi in the last game or the way Shubman has grown over the last six-eight months or seeing the way Ishan [Kishan] came in and kept in the last game on a difficult wicket, he did a really good job. So there’s been a lot of young players, we’ve seen even in one days and T20s, who’ve come through and done really well. So yeah, credit to our domestic system, NCA and a lot of other people who can make that possible for us.”
Dravid also suggested that the team will get to know youngsters like Jaiswal and Gill better time and there are high chances that West Indies will come up with new plans and tactics for the southpaw in the second Test.
“I know people like Jaiswal and Gill will be faced with tougher challenges as they go on and play more cricket,” Dravid said. “Teams will get to know them better. Even in this Test, we’ll see the West Indies probably come up with tactics and strategies having seen Jaiswal in the last Test match, and they’ll respond to that.
“The challenge for Jaiswal is to respond to the tactics and strategies West Indies are going to come up with in this game. Because today, as a young player, once you get known, once you start performing well, teams start planning and preparing for you better so you need to respond to that as well. So, looking forward to that but really excited to see his talent, how well he performed. Just the way he adapted, was really pleased to see that he was willing to play an attacking game when required but also knuckle down and be defensive, and work hard for his runs when required. As a coach, nothing pleases you more than that.”