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SPORTS JANUARY 13, 2023 | The Indian Eye 36

Dravid calls for patience as

young blood learns the curve to

play crucial role

With an eye on the 2024 T20 World Cup in the United States and the West Indies, India has shuffled

the playing group for the Sri Lankan series

Rahul Dravid with Hardik Pandya (ANI)

OUR BUREAU experience will yield results.
“Nobody wants to bowl wides
Mumbai/New Delhi
and no-balls in any format of the
ndia head coach Rahul Drav- game, but especially in the T20 for-
id has called for patience as the mat of the game. The young kids will
Iteam’s future stars find their feet have games like this at times, and I
and said that it’s a learning curve for think we all need to be patient with
the youngsters and others must be pa- them, (but) we need to be under-
tient with him. standing that games like this can’t
Axar Patel’s blistering 65 of 31 happen. I think as they’re learning,
balls and Suryakumar Yadav’s 51 of it’s tough. It’s not easy learning in
36 balls went in vain as India lost to international cricket. You have to
Sri Lanka by 16 runs in a high-scoring learn on the job. I think we’re going
match at the Maharashtra Cricket to have to have a little bit of patience
Association Stadium here on Thurs- with these guys,” Dravid said in a
day. India conceded seven no-balls post-match press conference.
and gave away plenty of runs in free With an eye on the 2024 T20 Axar Patel (ANI)
hits. Arshdeep Singh overstepped World Cup in the United States and
three times in a row in the second the West Indies, India has shuffled give them opportunities and to just “I think his [Axar’s] batting is
over of the innings, becoming the the playing group for the series, with back and support them,” India coach coming up leaps and bounds. We al-
first Indian bowler to bowl a hat-trick only four members of the 2022 T20 said. ways knew his quality with the ball,
of no-balls in T20Is. World Cup semi-final defeat to En- and it was just about developing his
The speedster created the re- gland taking the field in the series’ Axar’s batting going up by batting. He is working really hard
cord for bowling the greatest num- second outing. leaps and bounds on it. He has been with the team for
ber of no-balls in a T20I match by an “The good thing is that this year, more than a year now and it’s an area
Indian bowler. All these extras and a lot of the focus is going to be obvi- ndia head coach Rahul Drav- of his game that we have identified.
runs conceded in free hits turned out ously on the 50-over World Cup and id has lauded Axar Patel for his We know that it’s important for us
to be decisive in the end. the World Test Championship. The Iquickfire knock against Sri Lan- to have that,” Dravid said at a post-
Dravid was quick to defend Ar- T20 games that we have, it probably ka in the second T20I and said the match press conference on Thurs-
shdeep and the young bowling group gives us an opportunity to try out a all-rounder has been working hard day. Axar Patel’s exploits with the bat
Continued at next page... >>
for the inconsistency, explaining that lot of the younger guys and hopefully on his batting. Continued at next page... >>

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