Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Despite India8217;s first loss in the series at Ahmedabad it was an upbeat Indian team that landed in Rajkot. This was not surprising. The mood was similar in the dressing room at the Motera yesterday, and at the post-match press conference. Coach Greg Chappell and captain Rahul Dravid insisted that the their 8220;experiment and development8221; plan was on track.
8220;You don8217;t always find yourself in such a situation when you can experiment with the team against a very good opponent who will be coming at you all guns blazing. So when we got the opportunity we wanted to capitalise on that,8221; said Rahul Dravid after their loss at Ahmedabad.
Chappell agreed, and said that unless the youngsters are given the chance to play the big matches they won8217;t learn sitting on the sidelines. 8220;The experience that the youngsters have gained from after the Sunday match will be invaluable.8221;
Chappell couldn8217;t stop talking about the show put up by his young team. 8220;The fielding has been the highlight of the Ahmedabad match. If anyone can give me one instance when the Indian team8217;s effort in the field has been better than today, I will throw my hands up.8221;
The coach also said that they don8217;t want any member of the team to be a passenger. And the target being the 2007 World Cup, they want to give exposure to maximum number of players to increase the pool of players to choose from.
8220;We have to experiment in these games, because we don8217;t have much choice now. If we keep playing with a winning combination every time we take the field we won8217;t know what our bench strength is. And we just don8217;t want to wake up one fine morning and find ourselves in an awkward situation just because some of the regular players are unavailable,8221; said Chappell.
8220;Experimentation and development will continue. We are going to experiment, but at the same time we would look to develop our game every single day,8221; Chappell said firmly.
