Dharamsala, March 9
After a five-match Test series against England in which India suffered multiple setbacks be it player injuries and unavailability which forced the hosts to apply many changes and handed over five Test debuts, the head coach Rahul Dravid reserved special praise for chief selector Ajit Agarkar and his team "guided us in the right direction."
India secured a massive victory in the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala with an innings and 64 runs, propelling hosts to a 4-1 series win over England.
At many moments throughout the series India were missing Mohammed Shami, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj, however, the hosts came out victorious with a 4-1 victory against the visitors. During the series youngsters Rajat Patidar, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, Akash Deep and Devdutt Padikkal made their Test debut for India and the players did not disappoint the hosts, leaving their stamp with phenomenal performances.
"I'd just like to give a big shoutout to Ajit [Agarkar, chairman of selectors] and his team as well. A lot of the youngsters that come in, honestly, as a coach and as a captain, we don't actually get to see them because we don't see as much domestic cricket as Ajit and his team of selectors do. And they've pushed us and they've challenged us to pick some of these young players and they've picked the right ones and they've come out here and performed," Dravid said during a post-match presentation.
One of the successful picks was wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, who had only played 15 first-class matches. Jurel saved India from going down by a large margin in only his second Test in Ranchi, earning him Player of the Match honours.
"It is really good to see them step up. All of them in their own way put in some performances and played a part for this team which is heartning to see. I would like to give credit to Ajit and his team as a coach and as a captain we dont get to see Test cricket. So we have to rely on Ajit and his team to tell us who are the guys in domestic cricket who they feel can step up and fill in the gaps when required. They have been spot on and guided us in the right direction," he added.
Dravid said he want to appreciate the contribution made by Ajit and his team as the selectors usually don't receive the credit they deserve.
"We pick the playing XI finally but they are the ones who guide us when it comes to the domestic cricketers. Sometimes they don't get the credit that they deserve as selectors and I would like to really just acknowledge their contribution as well. All of these guys were playing in the A tour and it really helped us to see which of the guys are performing doing well currently and all those guys just came in and performed in the series as well," he said.
I have been a part of it during my time with NCA. We have got a lot of domestic cricket and I think the A team is the bridge between these two standards and it really helps you identify the players who are doing well," the head coach added.