India head coach Rahul Dravid mentioned that he will need a particular strategy to bring the most out of the headliners, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the upcoming T20 World Cup in the US next month. Said by cricket legend Brian Lara on Tuesday. Many players of the 2022 edition of the ICC event made their place in the Blue squad and repeatedly backed up the unparalleled participation of Rohit and Virat.
Brian Lara’s invaluable piece of advice to Rahul Dravid
When Lara was asked about India’s framework, he provided the example of a greatly experienced West Indies squad during the ODI World Cup in 1987 where Sir Vivian led side was unable to qualify for the semi-finals. In an interaction with PTI editors, Brian Lara said that,
“Sometimes when you have a team with a lot of superstars, you forget the plan and you believe that the superstars can do it. They just have to turn up. Sometimes you may feel, as a coach, intimidated, telling Sir Vivian Richards or Virat Kohli, you know exactly what you expect of them,”
“First of all, in terms of the player that were selected in the squad, let me start by saying that that’s a dilemma that a lot of countries have faced in the past. The West Indies in 1988 (1987 actually) is one example. Obviously when you have such great players, you want to stick to that experience because you feel that they can do it and there’s nothing wrong with it,” he mentioned referring to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Lara stated that Rahul Dravid will be having his hands full regarding the planning for the upcoming marquee event in 2024.
“You’ve got a lot of exciting young players coming out and you also have that sort of conundrum. India have gone with a team that has experience. My advice, and it’s not my criticism, it’s my advice, to Rahul Dravid is to make sure and have a plan,” Lara stated.
Lara also agreed that Rinku Singh’s exclusion from the Blue squad was simply unfortunate. He firmly believes that the Rohit Sharma-led team will be going far ahead in the ICC T20 World Cup.
“The team is capable of winning the World Cup. Yes, it’s a team that have maybe a couple of youngsters missing because of the situation. But I still believe that if they plan properly. India could win the World Cup,” Lara mentioned.