Rahul Dravid was a pleased man after his India ‘A’ side beat England Lions by five wickets in London on Monday to capture the 50-over tri-series trophy.
Coached by Dravid, India ‘A’ were highly impressive throughout the tri-series with some fine displays from the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Rishabh Pant and Deepak Chahar.
Following their form in the series, Krunal Pandya and Chahar were added to the Virat Kohli-led India squad for the T20 series against England to replace the injured Washington Sundar and Jasprit Bumrah.
“It’s been quite satisfying, some good performances. A tough game today as well, we had to fight back with the ball and the bat – so good to see them fight, good to see them compete in these conditions. Definitely some positives, as well as seeing some of the boys get into the national side as well, irrespective of the result,” the former India captain told ESPNCricinfo after his side’s win.
Rishabh Pant led India ‘A’ to victory on Monday with an unbeaten 64.
“Especially with the World Cup in a year’s time, it’s nice to have bench strength, for the selectors to know there are good young players if the situation does arise. It’s nice to replicate this experience leading into the World Cup, to give these boys some exposure in these conditions,” he added.
Dravid feels that the ‘A’ squad is becoming the perfect platform to develop India’s bench strength.
“There’s a good bench strength being developed and I think it gives people a lot of confidence that there are players, if the situation arises, who are in good touch and playing well. Over the last couple of years, we’ve done really well in white-ball cricket at this level, built up quite a few players. So that’s a good thing for Indian cricket,” the Bengaluru-born man stated.
The 45-year-old was on Sunday inducted in the ICC Hall of Fame along with former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting and England wicketkeeper-batswoman Claire Taylor. Dravid became only the fifth player from India to be given the recognition.