India head coach Rahul Dravid did not spill the beans but hinted that Virat Kohli may open in the T20 World Cup 2024, a position he has excelled at in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won the Orange Cap in the IPL 2024 as he scored 741 runs from 15 games at an average of 61.75 including one century and five half-centuries.
“We don't want to reveal much about our strategy but we have Rohit (Sharma) and (Yashasvi) Jaiswal. Virat has also opened in the IPL. Everything is in cards,” Dravid told the media in the press conference ahead of India’s T20 World Cup 2024 campaign opener against Ireland.
Dravid cautious batters
Dravid said that he has cautioned the batters against thinking that the conditions are batting-friendly. He wants them to assess the conditions to avoid registered low scores.
“When we practiced for the first few days, the wicket was a little different. In the third practice session, the practice pitch became a little better. I haven't seen today's match yet, but I have come to know that there have been low scores. Maybe a score of 140, 150 would be fine in this venue. We will not complain about the wicket and we also don't think that we will get the same kind of wickets. We will have to adapt ourselves accordingly,” he said.
As the IPL 2024 witnessed saw mammoth totals where bowlers were taken to the cleaners, Dravid feels that he does not want to decide what will be the ideal score on the surface in advance.
“Maybe we won't see big scores like in IPL here, but we will tell our boys not to decide in advance that we have to play like this. We will have to play according to the circumstances,” he added.
Low-scoring affair in New York
The first ever T20I at Nassau County Cricket International Stadium, New York turned out to be a low-scoring affair. South Africa bowled out Sri Lanka for 77, their lowest T20I total. South Africa batters struggled in the run chase too and won the game in the 17th over after losing four wickets.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
