Virat Kohli needs time to settle in the new role: Rahul Dravid  

The Wall of Indian Cricket Rahul Dravid has emphasized on the fact that Virat Kohli, India’s new full time test captain, should be given time to settle down into his new role. Dravid felt that upcoming one series against South Africa and Sri Lanka will give the team and the skipper the necessary experience and the chance to express themselves.

 “I think the team is moving in the right direction. We will have a lot of home series and it gives the team a good chance to settle down.”

 “It also gives our new Test captain a chance to settle down,” said Dravid, who is now in charge of India ‘A’ and U-19 teams.

“I think we need to be patient with Virat and we need to give him a chance to come into his own,” said the former India skipper at a promotional event here on Thursday.

 Dravid, who has to prepare the India ‘A’ team for their South Africa tour, feels that the series will be a great opportunity for these players to impress the selectors. “There’s a Test series against South Africa ‘A’ in South Africa towards the end of July. There is also a tri-series with Australia ‘A’ joining us. This will be followed by a couple of Test matches against Australia ‘A’.

“It’s going to be an exciting 40 days of cricket for the ‘A’ team, right from July 22 to the end of August. I’m sure that a lot of young players will get a chance to impress the selectors,” he said.

As the U-19 coach, Dravid has to prepare the youngsters for the 2016 U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in February.  “They are still trying to work out the schedule. There are a couple of tournaments before that. They will be playing cricket until December and after that you have time to prepare for the World Cup,” he said.

 With India’s inability to win test matches overseas the trio of greats Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman suggested more overseas tours for the ‘A’ team, and the idea was backed by Dravid.

 “Yeah it’s an idea. The only time the India ‘A’ and the U-19 guys are free is now, after the domestic season and the IPL. It’s a window of only a couple of months that we have and balancing that with where we can play cricket is the challenge. This is because, barring England, it’s not possible to play cricket anywhere else at this time of the year. I think BCCI are trying to arrange more overseas trips but it comes down to a question of scheduling,” he added.

 It’s the beginning of a new phase in Indian cricket, and the return of these 4 stalwarts in Indian cricket, can take Indian cricket to new heights.

Also, a lot will be expected of Virat Kohli as India needs to play with aggression in Test cricket, especially overseas, and there is nobody better than him to be the leader currently.