Second World Test Championship final is already underway at The Oval, and on the first day, Team India looked clueless, to say the least. When the toss happened, there was an overcast situation, and Rohit Sharma’s choice to ball first must be a result of detailed consultation with the coach Rahul Dravid. After initial success, it was all leather chasing for Team India for the remainder of the day. Although Australian captain Pat Cummins also suggested that he would have also chosen to bowl first had he won the toss, after the first hour’s play sun shined brightly and there was no seam or swing for the Indian bowlers?
Before every game, the decision about the toss is always discussed between the team captain, the coach and the senior players. But, at the end of the day, the captain and the coach will decide. For such an important game like the World Test Championship final which actually a Test match one wonders how a decision can be taken based on the first hour’s weather conditions. Almost all the weather apps, since last Sunday, were suggesting bright sunny conditions throughout five days at The Oval except for Saturday where there were chances of showers.
Yet, the decision to bowl first based on the first hour’s condition baffled many Indian cricket fans. Not only this but leaving Ravichandran Ashwin for Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav, has put fans in shock. It is not surprising that these two critical decisions that put the Aussies in the driver’s seat have made cricket fans angry not only at Rohit Sharma but also at Rahul Dravid the coach.
The fans are of the opinion that under Rahul Dravid’s coaching Team India has not only gone defensive but also made too many changes in the team when they were absolutely not required. Some fans are also remembering the days of Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri when the team was almost settled and winning almost all the Test matches and the series. Yes, India couldn’t win the inaugural World Test Championship final against New Zealand, but it didn’t look clueless during that game at least.
It is evident that when Team India falters with the mistakes made by the coach, the fans will pour their anger on him on social media. Currently, ‘Dravid’ is trending on Twitter, and cricket fans are showing their anger at his defensive approach as well as at the decision on dropping Ravichandran Ashwin for this all-important Test.
Let us look at some of those reactions of Team India’s coach.
User Balasubramanian feels that Rahul Dravid is an embarrassment to a coach. It sounds harsh, but he also has his reasons to support it.
Rahul Dravid has been an embarassment of a coach for this Indian team so far, especially in the test arena. Fumbling the absolute basics, messing up with well-set combinations, losing out on key moments, horrific management of work load and injuries and what not.
— Balasubramanian (@balas2405) June 7, 2023
Anantha Narayan has already decided that with this approach, Dravid shouldn’t be coaching Team India for T20Is and ODIs
If ‘horses for courses’ were the policy, Dravid shouldn’t be our T20 & ODI coach.
— Anantha Narayan (@ThisIsAnantha) June 8, 2023
Kirat is a bit harsh on the coach and claims he took the team back in 2012.
Rohit and dravid pushed back team india into 2012. They are the real virus as a coach and captain bc . #WTC2023Final
— kirat _13 (@kirat1385) June 7, 2023
Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian is criticizing the decision to drop Ravichandran Ashwin over Umesh Yadav by citing the difference between their bowling and batting skills.
Crazy that we have played Umesh Yadav instead of Ashwin:
1. Ashwin doesn’t leak as much runs as Umesh
2. Even in England, Ashwin’s striking ability would be at least as much as Umesh
3. Ashwin is a much better batsman than Umesh.
What kind of logic do Rahul Dravid and Rohit…— Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian (@SubramanianKri) June 7, 2023
Tapan Joshi has tweeted something interesting; he is remembering the black days of Indian cricket when Rahul Dravid was the captain, and Greg Chappell was the coach.
Rahul Dravid the coach seems to be cut from the same cloth as Greg Chappell. Give them Under-19s and they will make them cricketers. But can’t handle international cricketers.
— Tapan Joshi (@tapanjoshi28) June 7, 2023
Ayush has tweeted a video in which the former coach Ravi Shastri’s attacking approach towards Test matches has been shown. By tweeting this video, he is suggesting that Rahul Dravid is way too defensive as a coach.
Ravi Shastri was called “arrogant” for this statement. Rahul Dravid is called “humble” for staying silent even after consecutive losses & draws across all the formats.pic.twitter.com/nHctFDHJAq
— Ayush (@abasu0819) June 7, 2023
Niks has quoted a tweet and shown how Ravichandran Ashwin could have been effective at The Oval as he played for the home team Surrey a few seasons back.
Dravid sir knowns more than this. He even captained India when the team was knocked out of the first round of the WC in 2007! https://t.co/TjZPR18zpp
— Niks (@niks_1985) June 7, 2023
It is obvious that when fans, in general, can understand what to do and what not to do in a particular situation, the greats like Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid just don’t see at the ground surely hurts. With the huge score already on the board, India will only do the chasing job from hereon in not to win but to draw the Test, and it will be painful to see.
eChhapu
