India head coach Rahul Dravid blamed pitch for ICC CWC 2023 final loss - Reports

Rahul Dravid’s contract as Indian cricket team’s head coach has been extended by the BCCI.

Indian fans are distraught after the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 final loss against Australia at Narendra Modi International Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad. India after playing a magnificent first 10 games in the tournament qualified for the finals of the event comprehensively. Australia defeated India by 6 wickets in the final and won their 6th World Cup title. BCCI officials held a talk with coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma. 

Both of them joined the meeting with BCCI officials to explain the reason for India’s loss. Rohit Sharma joined the meeting through a video call as he is currently holidaying in the United Kingdom. BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla, secretary Jay Shah, and treasurer Ashish Shelar attended the meeting. Rahul Dravid was recently retained as India’s head coach. Earlier it was expected that he would not accept the extension. 

Rahul Dravid blamed pitch for the World Cup final loss

According to report from Dainik Jagran, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has blamed the pitch at Narendra Modi International Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad for the World Cup 2023 final loss against Australia. The Indian batting lineup had a terrific outing in the league round and semi-final against New Zealand and scored more than 300 in almost every game while batting first. In the final, they failed miserably and could only post 240 runs on the board. After Virat’s departure, India scored only 5 boundaries in 22 overs. 

India head coach Rahul Dravid explained that team management was expecting the pitch to turn more but it was below expectations. Australian bowlers used the conditions exceptionally well and Australian pacers’ variations put India in trouble. The used wicket was chosen as per suggestion from the local curator and was kept dry for the game. Pitch got better while batting second where Australia chased down the target of 241 runs comfortably. 

According to a few media reports, BCCI also asked Rahul Dravid why team management opted out of this plan when seamers like Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj were doing fantastic work in the pace bowling. Dravid replied that it worked well for the team in other games but failed in the final. Indian pace attack had a dominating run in the tournament and Mohammed Shami ended up as the leading wicket-taker in the mega event. 

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