Intro
Former India coach links batting struggles against spin to packed multi-format schedules
Bengaluru
Former India head coach Rahul Dravid has attributed the national team’s growing struggles against spin bowling to the lack of adequate turnaround time between formats, saying the modern schedule leaves little room to rediscover and sharpen difficult skills.
Once famed for their mastery against spin, Indian batters have recently found themselves under pressure on turning tracks across formats. India suffered a 3-0 home Test whitewash against New Zealand in 2024 and a 2-0 defeat to South Africa last year, while earlier this month they lost an ODI series to New Zealand for the first time in bilateral 50-over contests.
Dravid said constant movement between formats has taken a toll on players who feature in all three versions of the game.
“One of the things I’ve noticed, even as a coach, is that players are just moving from one format to the other all the time,” Dravid said. “We would reach a Test series three or four days before the first match and realise that some players hadn’t played red-ball cricket for four or five months.”
Dravid contrasted the situation with his own era, when players had extended preparation time before Test series. “In my generation, there were only two formats. I remember having almost a whole month to prepare for Tests,” he said, adding that developing skills like playing spin requires sustained practice. He also referred to Shubman Gill’s recent comments highlighting the challenge of adapting across formats.
Despite concerns in longer versions, Dravid backed India as favourites for the upcoming T20 World Cup starting February 8. The former coach, whose final assignment was India’s triumphant 2024 T20 World Cup campaign, said India’s dominance in the shortest format set them apart.
“India are playing T20 cricket at a different level,” he said, pointing to an 80 per cent success rate in recent years. However, he cautioned that knockouts depend on performance on the day.
Dravid also credited Rohit Sharma for transforming India’s white-ball approach, praising the former captain for personally setting the tempo and embracing risk, even at the cost of personal milestones.