What did Rahul Dravid say?
Rahul Dravid said, ‘No, there is no pressure on us. I mean we are not feeling any pressure to try and win an ICC trophy. Obviously it would be nice to win a trophy. To be able to win an ICC tournament would definitely be nice. But in this context you also have to see that this is the culmination of two years of hard work.
He said, ‘You reach here only after achieving many successes. So we have many positive aspects. Winning the series in Australia, drawing the series here, competing everywhere that this team has. These things won’t change just because you haven’t won an ICC trophy. It is really the big picture.
Ajinkya Rahane is getting settled
Middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane is set to play his first Test match in 18 months and a failure could end his career. Dravid also offered advice to the veteran batsman. Dravid said, ‘It is good that he is with the team. Due to injury to some players, he got a chance to return to the team. It is good that we have a skilful player like him. ,
He said, ‘With his arrival, experience has increased in the team. He has been doing well overseas and even in England he has played some brilliant innings. Under his leadership the team has achieved some good successes. I don’t want him to see this as his only opportunity.
Cheteshwar Pujara has scored loads of runs in county cricket recently and Dravid said his advice can be of great help to the team. He said, ‘We had a discussion with Pujara about captaincy and batting. He also captained Sussex and hence has a good understanding of the tactics of the bowlers playing in the county. So we discussed it with him and let’s see how we can implement his advice.