Why Are India Struggling In Tests? Rahul Dravid Gives Blunt Reply: "Not Easy"

The Indian cricket team's performances in Test cricket have experienced a drastic slip in quality, with home defeats against New Zealand and South Africa in the past year. While the side has dominated the T20I format without a single series loss under head coach Gautam Gambhir, their Test form has led to criticism from fans and experts alike. Former India head coach Rahul Dravid opened up about the challenges that modern batters face in Test cricket, explaining how switching between formats hampers their preparation. "One of the things I understood as a coach, especially for the guys that play all three formats, is that they keep moving from one format to the other," Dravid said at the launch of the book The Rise of the Hitman: The Rohit Sharma Story in Bengaluru.

"There were times when we would get to a Test match three to four days before the game. When we started practicing for the Test match and looked back at the last time some of these guys had actually hit a red ball, it might have been four or five months ago."

"That's become a real challenge-how do you find the time to develop those difficult skills? To play on turning tracks or seaming wickets for hours in a Test match is not easy. It requires skill. In my generation, when there were only two formats and no franchise cricket, there were many times where I would have a whole month of practicing for a Test series, playing with the red ball to develop my skills," Dravid added.

Dravid also noted that similar issues were pointed out by current skipper Shubman Gill, hinting that this lack of preparation could be behind the star batter's recent struggles.

"Now, one of the things that has become tougher in red-ball cricket is that many of our guys who play all three formats-or play the sheer amount of cricket they are playing-sometimes don't have the time to practice red-ball cricket as much."

"I think Shubman has alluded to it recently because he's someone who has experienced that. Having played all three formats recently, he would have realised how difficult it is to actually gear up for the Test format," he concluded.

Topics mentioned in this article

Rahul Dravid Gautam Gambhir India Cricket Team Shubman Gill Cricket