Ahead of India’s first Test in opposition to South Africa at Centurion, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid mentioned on Sunday that the sequence being a brief, two-match affair leaves India with much less time to bounce again from any adversity and the workforce is motivated to roar again into their profitable methods following the dissapointment of ICC Cricket World Cup remaining loss to Australia. India will kickstart the two-match Test sequence in opposition to South Africa with the primary Test at Centurion from Tuesday onwards. For many seniors like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, this will probably be their first worldwide task following the loss to Australia within the World Cup finals final month.

In the pre-match press convention, Dravid mentioned that India must play very well in these two matches because the sequence is brief and their previous outcomes regardless of not profitable a Test sequence give them some confidence to do effectively.

“We have been coming here since 1992, played some good cricket, won some Test matches and drawn some. But we are yet to win a Test series. We had our share of opportunities to do so but could not. This is a short series and we will have less amount of time to bounce back. We will try to play well in the series. We have done well in patches here (in SA). This will give us confidence that we can do well in South African conditions,” mentioned Dravid.

On gamers transferring on from the heartbreak of World Cup loss, Dravid mentioned that the workforce has moved on since it’s wanted, as these Test matches will give them an opportunity to qualify for the ICC World Test Championship remaining in 2025.

“It was a disappointment (WC loss) but you have to move on since there was an important series coming up. All these matches count towards our chances of qualifying for another ICC event final in 2025. We do not have much time to stay down all the time. You have to pick yourself up. Guys have done that really well. They are all in a great spirits and excited to play in this series. It is a great place to play Test cricket,” mentioned Dravid.

“Players do not need motivation to play for India. I do not need to motivate them either. My job is to give them the right environment, make sure they practice well, and make sure we follow the right processes. We should tick all the boxes mentally, physically and tactically so that we give ourselves the best chance to succeed,” he added.

Dravid mentioned that the bouncy wickets and assist for seamers on these surfaces make batting difficult and whoever out bats the opposite, wins the sequence.

“A big challenge is, as of late, the wickets are bouncy, they have a lot of seam. It makes batting difficult. Wickets are result-oriented. You can go backwards if you lose even one session. Even if you lose a session, you should be able to control the fall of wickets, fight back and develop partnerships. Extra 40-50 runs are needed here, since all 20 wickets fall here. Whichever team bats better, will win the series,” mentioned Dravid.

“It has been one of the toughest countries statistically. But we have put in some good performances. It is not impossible to do well here. The bounce here tends to be more variable than in other places, with not much swing as much as England, and pace as much as Australia. It has been a challenging place for Indian batters, but we have put on some fine performances. We have got the quality and experience to do well this time,” he added.

Dravid mentioned that the sequence serves as a pleasant alternative for KL Rahul to maneuver into his position as a wicketkeeper-batter in Test cricket as effectively following good performances in ODIs.

“It is an exciting challenge (to keep wickets) and an opportunity for him to do something different. With Ishan Kishan not being around. We have had discussions with KL Rahul. He is confident and keen to give it a chance. He has done so in ODIs really well, which is a tough task in itself. Over the last five-to-six months, he has done a lot of keeping. He has prepared really well. There is going to be more pace bowling than spin bowling here, it will ease him into that role,” mentioned Dravid.

On whether or not Team India will play a extra optimistic model of cricket within the sequence, Dravid mentioned that although gamers are inspired to play with freedom, there needs to be a stability between expression and making good selections.

“We encourage players to play the way they feel comfortable in. But also, they have to keep tactics and conditions in mind that come with playing in South Africa. There has to be a balance between expressing yourself and making smart decisions,” he mentioned.

Talking about the potential of rain on day one of many match, Dravid mentioned that the workforce has sufficient depth and stability to react to any scenario.

“We will see what the wicket looks like, what the weather will be like on the morning of the match. When you come to play, you look at what is above you and below you. We will take the decision accordingly. We have the balance and depth needed. We can play four seamers, three seamers and two spinners and react according to the weather. We look at the forecast, it keeps changing a lot too,” he added.

India’s squad for Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (Wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Mohd. Shami*, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna.

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