Rahul Dravid Says Indian Cricket Team Management Has “17-18 Players” In Mind With Big Events Lined Up

Several important cricket events await the Indian team this year, and the think tank of the side has narrowed on ’17-18 players’ going forward, according to Rahul Dravid. This leg of home ODIs were very important as the players will now get into IPL and after that there is the big WTC final, followed by a tour of West Indies and a possible Asia Cup in Dubai. “Probably not going to get too many more games in our conditions. We had the opportunity to play in these conditions which is great. Yeah, coming out of the IPL to a large extent we are pretty clear about the kind of squad and the players we want. We have narrowed it down to 17-18 players,” Rahul Dravid said.

Injuries to Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, Prasidh Krishna, Deepak Chahar does remain a concern but Dravid insisted that the team is in a good head space.

“We have some guys who are recovering from injuries and will come into the frame based on their recovery. All in all, we are pretty much in good space. We are able to give those who we have zeroed in on as many playing opportunities.

“There are a couple of different combinations that we would like to try. It is a big tournament, a long tournament in India, we want to have that flexibility in our squad. Some times four fast bowlers, sometimes three spinners. Within the squad we will like to keep the options. Just to ensure that we have covered all our bases for all conditions.”