When Rahul Dravid appeared for the pre-game news conference for the third and final ODI between India and New Zealand, a number of questions were put to him. The head coach provided an extremely composed response when asked about the team’s wicketkeeper predicament. Tuesday’s third and final ODI will take place in Indore between India and New Zealand. Since India already has an unbeatable lead in the series, it is a moot point. In both games, India proved to be simply superior than the visitors and dominated in every area of the game.
Before the game, Team India’s head coach, Rahul Dravid, addressed to the media and fielded some challenging inquiries. For the forthcoming World Cup, a reporter inquired as to whether India is searching for a goalkeeper in the mould of Rahul Dravid. Rahul Dravid replied, “We are always looking for a wicketkeeper-batsman, there is no question about it. I think since MS Dhoni, in white-ball cricket, the days of specialist wicket keepers are gone unfortunately. We are lucky and we are fortunate that all of the guys who are in contention, even in this team you know whether it’s Ishan Kishan or KS Bharat are both good batsmen and have done well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Bharat hasn’t played but Ishan has obviously done well as a batsman.”
Another concern was who will play wicket-keeper as veteran Rishabh Pant will be out for at least a year or more due to injury. “There is Rahul there, Samson is there, but unfortunately, Rishabh is injured. All of these guys are wicketkeeper-batsman. I think today, you have to be a wicketkeeper-batsman. You should be able to bat and contribute significantly. We have also picked up Jitesh Sharma in the T20 mix because of his ability to bat and score runs at a very quick pace as he has shown in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and in the IPL that he has played. So yeah it’s given now that all teams need a wicketkeeper-batsman,” Dravid added.
If New Zealand wants to secure a victory in this ODI series, they must step up their game. They would be hoping for a more coordinated effort if they wish to defeat India at home because their batting has let them down throughout the series. India might want to rest some of its important players now that they have clinched the series. They can also utilise this as an opportunity to give chances to players who could be out of shape and would try to capitalise on the situation.