Team India head coach Rahul David on Tuesday said in a press conference that he was happy to have all-rounder Hardin Panda back in the side and praised his leadership in the recently concluded Indian Premier League of 2022. The 49-year-old commended the captaincy of other Indian players in equal measure, including the likes of KL Rahul and Santa Samson. David also shared his thoughts on the workload management of players and stated that expecting players to be available for all matches would be unfair. His comments come on the backdrop of regular captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jaspreet Bumrah being rested from the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa, beginning on Thursday.
Excerpts:
On Hardin's leadership and if he is being seen as a leader in the team:
I just met Hardin a couple of hours ago. We had given him an extra day off, all the guys who played in the final. His leadership was very impressive. You don't have to be designated as a leader to be a leader. From our perspective, it is good to have him back bowling. For us, it's about getting the best out of him as a cricketer. The selectors will make their decisions based on how things go in the future. It was good to see a lot of young Indian leaders lead their teams.
On top three bowlers and new ones' workload:
It's important to manage the workload of all the players. We have already rested a few of the players. We have done that in the past few series. This will continue for a little, but, hopefully, before the T20 WC we'll be able to get everyone back on board.
It's pleasing to have Hardin back. Been pleasing to watch him bat as well. Without giving too much away, don't want to give the batting order away before the match, sometimes the role you play for the franchise isn't the same for the India team, at times they might be slightly different. The same is the case here.
On Rohit being rested too many times after being named captain across all three formats:
It's not difficult at all. We are in touch with Rohit. Rahul has captained before. Rohit is one of our all-format players. It's unrealistic to expect that they play all games. We want them to rest and be ready for the big matches, big tournaments. With the one-off Test in the UK, we have tried to ensure we field our strong side for that Test. From my perspective, it is a good opportunity for youngsters (this series).
KL in the power play, coach's idea on top three approaches for T20:
Any top three that play, what we want is a really good start from them based on what the wicket demands. There are high scoring games where you want to keep up the strike rate. There might be other games where the wickets can be more challenging. As I said, their roles at franchise cricket might be different from what we give them here. But I'm confident they'll step up in those respective roles.
David also spoke on Dinesh Kathak's inclusion and said, 'With DK it's very obvious and very clear, he's made his comeback for the skills that he has shown by playing in a particular phase of the game. He's been picked to bat in that position.'
Speaking about the possibility of India creating the record of most T20I wins, David said, 'Honestly, we haven't thought of the record (13 T20I wins in a row). Nice to win games. We want to prepare well. We do realize we are up against a very strong SA side. A good chance for the players who didn't play against them to Test themselves vs this side.'
Imran Malik, who impressed everybody together with his performances, as he took 22 wickets for Sun Risers, Hyderabad and clocked the second-fastest supply of the season at 157kmph also drew the attention of the Indian captain. ''He (Imran) was exciting. Certainly bowled quick. That was another exciting thing for me: watching the Indian bowlers bowl quickly. I hope, as a coach, it gets translated to other formats. He's obviously learning, and growing. Would be interesting to see how much time we can give him. I'm certainly someone who likes to give players consistency. Pradeep is another exciting guy, whose brilliant as well.
On Kuldeep ADAV, if he is the kind of guy who needs confidence/backing:
Every one of us in life they need that confidence and every one of us in life will thrive given that confidence. It's easy to say, you don't get guarantee in sports. Nice to have Kuldeep back. He has been a terrific performer.
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