India’s smooth transition is tribute to domestic system, says Dravid

SPAIN: A robust domestic system that churns talent by the dozen with a process of putting them through the grind has helped Indian cricket deal with tough transition phases in a seamless manner, head coach Rahul Dravid said ahead of second Test against the West Indies. As the erstwhile head of National Cricket Academy and in charge of pathways cricket (India U-19 and India A), Dravid monitored a lot of current India players like Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan, Mohammed Siraj to name a few.

“It’s a tribute to the domestic system,” Dravid said. “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 that has allowed young players to come and express themselves. “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) come in and keep 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,” he added.

Dravid also had a word of caution to the youngsters and said they would have to face stronger challenges ahead. “I know that people like Jaiswal and Gill will be faced with other tougher challenges as they go on and play more cricket. You know, teams will start getting to know them better,” Dravid said. ‘Don’t believe in counting chickens’ The schedule of the Asia Cup is out. The tournament, which would be the build-up to the World Cup, will see India-Pakistan clash in Kandy on September 2.

Clubbed in the same group, the arch-rivals may clash thrice -- league phase, super-4 and final -- over the course of 19 days tournament beginning on August 30. “I don’t believe in counting my chickens too much. I want to play one game at a time,” Dravid said at the prospect of taking on Pakistan thrice.

“We know we have to play Pakistan and Nepal in the first two games, we need to focus on that, we need to play good cricket, we need to win those games and then see where the tournament goes. “If we get the opportunity to play them three times, I think that is fantastic, that means we reach the final of the tournament and hopefully Pakistan reach the final as well.”