Loss in the second Test in Johannesburg and India’s 3-0 ODI whitewash during the forgetful tour of South Africa have raised eyebrows on KL Rahul’s captaincy credentials. But head coach Rahul Dravid believes India’s temporary skipper deserves patience and breathing space to warm into his job.
Rahul, who stood up to lead India in the second Test of the Gandhi-Mandela Trophy in absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, had to also step-up for the ODI series that followed with Rohit not recovering in time from his hamstring injury.
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Still very new to the leadership group, Rahul suffered bitter losses in each of the four occasions he led the side. With his Indian Premier League captaincy career also not bearing the desired fruits for him, the elegant batter is facing questions mark from fans and media over his ability to lead the side.
But Dravid came out in defense of his man, stating he needs more time and matches to learn the trades of the job and should be judged over a larger sample of size.
“He did a good job. It’s not easy to end on 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 his post-match presser following India’s painful loss by 4 runs in the third and final one-dayer on January 23.
Rahul wouldn’t have had to captain India at all on the trip if not for Rohit’s untimely hamstring injury. The appointed Test vice-captain and new white-ball skipper got injured hours before the team’s departure for the series featuring three Tests and three ODIs.
This meant that when Kohli went down with a back spasm, Rahul had to do the captaincy duties for the second Test in Johannesburg and also the entire three-match ODI series, where India’s longstanding issues came back to haunt them.
Dravid said his management has its eyes set on the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. And thus, while the loss versus South Africa was a “good eye opener”, he recognises that his team is still going through a transition phase and will pose a completely different look when their pivotal allrounders Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja are back.
