India coach Rahul Dravid praises Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill

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Rahul Dravid 2008 saw a change in the Indian Test team as a player for the first time. It started with the retirement of Sourav Ganguly, after which MS Dhoni took over the captaincy from Anil Kumble. Then, Dravid retired along with VVS Laxman in 2012 to make way for Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli, before Sachin Tendulkar’s departure a year later signaled the end of a golden era in Indian cricket.

A decade later, Dravid has a broader view of another Indian team in transition, this time as a head coach and as someone who has delved into the system, particularly the age-group and pathway programs. Spent a lot of time.

Pujara, the man who replaced Dravid as India’s long-term No. 3 for most of the last decade, now finds himself out of the mix after 103 Tests. Shubman Gillwho flourished as an age-group cricketer under Dravid, has taken that position Yashasvi Jaiswal Rohit Sharma, who has striven to become a left-handed opening batsman, believes that he can serve Indian cricket for a long time to come.
Jaiswal made his debut in dominica India started the 2023-25 ​​WTC cycle with a mature score of 171 last week. The way he batted – “willing to play aggressively when needed, but also defensive, working hard for his runs when needed” – did not surprise Dravid in the least.

“It’s a tribute to the domestic system,” Dravid said on the eve of the second Test starting on Thursday in Port-of-Spain. “It’s a tribute to the environment around the team that a lot of young players have been able to come in and perform straight away. A lot of credit must be given to the domestic system for producing such players, especially the batting department.” And the team here has been able to create a comfortable environment to allow young players to come and express themselves.

“So from our point of view as a coach it’s good to see the young players come in, perform straight away and perform really well, whether it’s Yashasvi in ​​the last game or the way Shubman has developed in the last six-eight months or The way watching Ishan (Kishan) come in and keep on a difficult wicket in the last game, he did a really good job. So there are a lot of young players, we have seen in ODIs and T20s as well, who have come forward and really played well. “We did well in the IPL. So yes, the credit goes to our domestic system, NCA and many others who made it possible for us.”

While praising the youngsters, Dravid also expressed caution and expressed hope that they will face tough challenges to mark the next level of learning and development.

“I know that as guys like Jaiswal and Gill grow and play more cricket, they will face tough challenges,” Dravid said. “Teams will get to know him better. In this Test also, we will see that West Indies will probably come up with strategies and tactics after watching Jaiswal in the last Test match, and they will respond to that.

“The challenge for Jaiswal is to respond to West Indies’ tactics and strategies in this game. Because today, as a young player, once you get known, once you start performing well, teams “Start planning and preparing.” It would be better if you also need to answer this. So, I am waiting for him but really excited to see his talent and how well he performs. The way he adapted, it was really heartening to see that he was willing to play aggressively when needed, but also be patient when needed and be defensive and work hard for runs. As a coach, nothing makes you happier than this.

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