IND vs SA 2022-23, Indore T20I: 'In terms of Bumrah's replacement, we are looking at options' - Dravid

Head coach Rahul Dravid said that getting used to the "unique" pace and bounce in Australia will be the Indian team's immediate objective at the preparatory camp in Perth ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022, starting October 16. Speaking to the reporters following the 2-1 straight series win over Australia and South Africa, respectively, Dravid said that the idea behind reaching Australia earlier ahead of the T20WC was to familiarise the players with the conditions, mainly those who are not accustomed to playing Down Under. The team will be leaving for Perth on Thursday morning. Besides training, the squad will also be playing a couple of practice matches before moving to Brisbane for the warm-up matches arranged by the ICC. India opens its T20WC campaign against Pakistan on October 23.

"We will get an opportunity to spend a few sessions in Perth and then have a couple of matches there. Australia is unique in terms of the pace and bounce, and many of our players have not played a lot of T20 cricket in Australia," Dravid conveyed during the post-match press conference.

"The idea was to give ourselves a chance to practice a little bit more, acclimatise and get some game time in. Having been to Australia before, it takes some time to get used to that pace and bounce, and hopefully, once we practice, we will be able to have discussions around the strategies and tactics of how we need to play," added Dravid.

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"It is important [to leave early] as we have a young squad which has not played a lot of cricket in Australia. So, hopefully, that should help us," Dravid continued. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah being ruled out of the T20WC due to a back injury is a massive knock for the side.

As India confronts death bowling anxieties, Bumrah's replacement is yet to be named, with seamer Mohammad Shami being the frontrunner to replace him. Among the T20WC reserves, Shami had to miss a couple of home series due to COVID-19. The management allowed the likes of Deepak Chahar, Mohammad Siraj and Umesh Yadav over the six T20I matches at home.

"In terms of replacement, we are looking at [options]. We have time till October 15. Shami is in the standbys, but he could not play in these two series. It would have been ideal from that perspective, but he is currently in the NCA. We will have to get reports on how he is recovering and his status after 14-15 days of Covid, and we will take a call after that. We got what we wanted from these two series," considered Dravid.

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The matches against South Africa and Australia were necessary for India's rehearsal for the T20WC, and Dravid said that the side got a lot out of a couple of series wins. "Honestly, it has gone very well for us. Two good teams, Australia being the reigning world champions and South Africa, we had never beaten them at home. To win both those series is a positive result," Dravid defined.

"We were unfortunate with one or two injuries, and that allowed us to rotate the squad a bit and get the players at the NCA [Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar] to get their strengths up and build on the workloads leading into the World Cup. We got what we wanted from the two series," described Dravid.

"There were tough games for the bowlers as it is always in India. Both of them [the last two against SA] were high-scoring games, but the boys will be delighted that we got the right result," Dravid clarified. Bowling remains trouble for India, and the head coach said the side is attempting to handle the problem.

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"To be fair, it has been very flat wickets, not easy bowling in the death for both teams, not just us. Australia and South Africa have a lot of bowling experience and struggled in the end. But, we must look at ourselves and see how we can improve," verdict Dravid.

"Certainly, that is an area we would like to improve and improve. As you play these big tournaments, margins can be minimal, and every run can matter. And, if we can cut them at any stage of the game, it will certainly make a difference. Won't like to single out Harshal," Dravid ruled.

Pacer Harshal Patel has been leaking runs since his injury comeback. The likes of Arshdeep Singh, Chahar and Siraj, too, were expensive in patches throughout the six games. "I won't say it is a concern. He [Harshal] has been someone who has done well over the last couple of years. He is coming from a month off and coming back into tough conditions, especially after you have not played for six weeks," spoke Dravid.

"We back him, and he has got the quality and ability. He is not the only one. Overall in death, we need to get better and execute better. Sometimes it is not just about the plans. It is about execution, whether bowling a yorker or slower or hitting the wide line. I don't like to single him out," Dravid concluded.

(With inputs from PTI)