Rahul Dravid backs KL Rahul after 3-0 defeat

KL Rahul’s maiden ODI assignment as captain was far from fruitful as India suffered a 3-0 whitewash in the recently-concluded series against South Africa. The Men in Blue failed to perform as a unit and failed to record even a solitary win. Rahul’s captaincy received heavy criticism as the right-handed batter was accused of not taking the right decisions on the field.

Read more here: SA vs IND: 3rd ODI Review – Protea whitewash India in a thriller

However, Team India head coach Rahul Dravid has come out in KL’s defence, saying the 29-year-old will get better with time. Notably, Rahul also led India in the second Test match, which took place in Johannesburg, as the then regular skipper Virat Kohli was injured. His captaincy in that game didn’t impress the cricket world either as the Proteas side walked away with a brilliant seven-wicket win.

KL Rahul will constantly get better as he captains: Rahul Dravid

“He did a good job. It’s not easy to end on the wrong side of the result. He is just starting out and I think he did a very decent job. He will constantly get better as he captains,” Dravid said in the post-match press conference when asked how he found Rahul as a captain, having lost all four games that he led on tour.

Calling the series defeat a “good” eye opener, Dravid said that India lacked the “execution of skills” in the ODI series. “This is a good eye opener but we haven’t played a lot of ODI cricket. We last played against England in March (after that second string side played against Lanka under Dravid’s coaching). We will play a lot of white ball cricket before next year’s World Cup,” admitted the former Indian captain.

Dravid also noted that fact that India missed their regular all-rounders and the same hampered the combination of the side. “The guys who play at 6, 7, and 8 weren’t available for selection and when they come back, the side will have a slightly different look,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Men in Blue are now gearing up for a three-match ODI series against West Indies, which gets underway on February 6. Regular skipper Rohit Sharma is expected to be available for the series.