Ravichandran Ashwin comes up with a strong reply to Ravi Shastri's 'too many breaks' remarks for Rahul Dravid

The Indian cricket Board appointed the former legendary Indian batter, Rahul Dravid as the head coach of the national cricket team of India last year in November 2021. Since then, the 48-year-old couldn’t be part of a few bilateral assignments of India like the white-ball series against Ireland and Zimbabwe.

Advertisment

Now, Dravid has also missed the tour of New Zealand where India is scheduled to play the three-match T20I series and three-match ODI series.

This sequence and schedule of the Indian head coach Rahul Dravid didn’t go down well with the former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri. Subsequently, the former Indian all-rounder criticized Rahul Dravid for taking too many breaks and not monitoring the players.

“Because I want to understand my team, I want to understand my players and I want to be in control of that team. These breaks… why do you need that many breaks, to be honest? You get your 2-3 months of the IPL, that’s enough for you to rest as a coach. But other times, I think a coach should be hands-on, whoever he is,” said Ravi Shastri.

Advertisment

Although senior all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin didn't look agreed with the comments of Ravi Shastri, he took no time in coming up with a strong reply. He also defended Rahul Dravid while making an argument against the stance of Ravi Shastri.

They would have been under not only mental but also physical burnout and everyone needed a break - Ravichandran Ashwin

“I will explain why Laxman has gone there with a completely different team because even that could be interpreted differently. Rahul Dravid and his team put in extensive hard work ahead of the T20 World Cup, right from planning, since I saw this from close quarters, I’m saying this,” said Ashwin in a video on his YouTube channel.

Advertisment

“They had specific in-depth plans for each venue and each opposition. So they would have been under not only mental but also physical burnout and everyone needed a break. As soon as the New Zealand series ends, we have the Bangladesh tour. That’s why we have a different coaching staff led by Laxman for this tour,” he added later.