Cricket: 'The Sri Lanka tour is crucial for youngsters', says Rahul Dravid
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According to Dravid, many youngsters, who could also be picked up for the upcoming T20 World Cup, can play a crucial role in the series.
Shikhar Dhawan will lead the second string of the Indian cricket team for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka. The Men in Blue will take on the Lankans for three ODIs and as many T20Is.
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Former India skipper Rahul Dravid will be the head coach of the squad. Several senior players are not present in the squad as they are currently touring England along with skipper Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri.
According to Dravid, many youngsters, who could also be picked up for the upcoming T20 World Cup, can play a crucial role in the series.
“It [The Sri Lanka tour] is crucial for youngsters like Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad. They would be extremely keen to do well and set a marker for the selectors. Whether they get picked for the World Cup or not, that’s a call that the selectors and the Indian team management would take based on their plans and strategies," Dravid told reporters at the media interaction, according to Sportstar.
"That said, it’s not like if you don’t have a good tour of Sri Lanka, you are never going to make it. Conversely, just because you do well against Sri Lanka doesn’t mean you will make it automatically. Certainly, good performances on tours like these against international oppositions make the selectors think about you," he added.
As per Dravid, the primary goal of the Men in Blue is to win the series in Sri Lanka.
"So like you said, rightly there are a lot of people in the squad who are pushing for places or looking to cement their places in the sort of T20 World Cup. But the key goal for everyone in the squad and in the team is to try and win the series, we have had discussions around it," Dravid was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
'That is the primary objective. We are going out there to win the series, hopefully, people get the opportunity to put in good performances in the course of us trying to win the series, and knock the doors of the selectors," he signed off.