Team India had to concede a humiliating 10-wicket defeat at the hands of Australia in the second ODI on Sunday, March 19. The three-match ODI series is expected to help the two bitter rivals in preparing for the 50-over World Cup. Following the second ODI defeat, India head coach Rahul Dravid talked about his side’s composition for the World Cup. Dravid’s remarks underlined the need to experiment with different combinations ahead of the World Cup, but his comments did not go down well with some former cricketers. Pakistan ex-captain Salman Butt was one of those who felt that India head coach’s statements were simply untimely. Butt said that Dravid’s focus should currently be on winning the ODI series against Australia.
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“Rahul Dravid said that they will keep trying different combinations. Pehle series toh jeeto! Badalna toh irrelevant hai (First you should win the series! Changing combinations is just irrelevant). We’ve to see how you solve your batting concerns first. All this talk about team combinations… this is where the confusion starts. How much do you want to change? At this moment, all the conversations should be around the third ODI and how to win it,” Salman Butt said on his official YouTube channel.
Team India kicked off the series against Australia on a promising note after recording a convincing five-wicket triumph in the opening encounter. The Steven Smith-led side scripted a resounding comeback in the series after winning the penultimate fixture by 10 wickets. The thrashing defeat undoubtedly came as a surprise for the Rohit Sharma-led side ahead of the World Cup, scheduled to be played in India later this year. While shedding some light on India’s preparation for the World Cup, head coach Rahul Dravid stated that the team management wants to explore different team combinations ahead of the showpiece event.
“There are a couple of different combinations that we would like to try. It is a big tournament, a long tournament in India, we want to have that flexibility in our squad,” Rahul Dravid said during a press conference on Tuesday, March 21.
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The final ODI of the series between India and Australia is slated to be played today at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
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