. Ashwin’s defence of Rahul Dravid

R. Ashwin has come to the defence of ex-cricketer and current team head coach Rahul Dravid, who has faced criticism for being rested during the ongoing tour of New Zealand. As a substitute, ex-cricketer VVS Laxman, who is the head of the National Cricket Academy, has been asked to take the reins of the team which does not include Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami and Ashwin.

According to Ashwin, Rahul Dravid and the Indian team undertook extensive training and strategy making prior to the 2022 T20 World Cup, which included detailed plans for each venue and opponent team, leading to fatigue. Since the New Zealand tour has come at the heels of the World Cup, and is to be followed by the Bangladesh tour, key players of the World Cup squad have been rested.

Dravid has been criticized for the break he is on, by ex-head coach Ravi Shastri, who has questioned the need for a break in the face of the “two-three months” rest during the IPL. According to Shastri, as a coach he never believed in breaks as he wanted to understand the team, and the players, in order to be able to control them.

Dravid has been substituted for by VVS Laxman in India’s tour of Zimbabwe earlier in the year, and also at a match against Ireland in Dublin when the first-tier team were involved in a Test match in England, and again at an ODI event against South Africa during the T20 World Cup.