Ahead of the 1st odi between India and South Africa (IND vs SA 1st ODI) KL Rahul, during pre-match press conference, candidly admitted that Team India is having difficulty playing spin.
KL Rahul said, “I can’t give a definitive answer as to why we haven’t been able to play spin well. I can say that we haven’t been able to play spin well in the last one or two series. We understand that, and we know that it’s part of our batting skills. We can learn from talking to (Sunil) Gavaskar sir. We’re working on how to play spin well. But it won’t happen overnight. I don’t know why we played spin well before and why we don’t now. There are many reasons for this. But we’re trying to improve.”
Captain KL Rahul’s press conference clarified several other things. Team India hasn’t forgotten the Test series defeat against South Africa, but it’s not carrying it with it either. Captain KL Rahul said, “Tests and ODIs are different formats, with different players. We certainly didn’t perform well in Guwahati and Kolkata. We haven’t played many ODIs since the Champions Trophy. We understand we’ll have to make several tactical changes in the match. We’ll talk to Jiji Bhai (coach Gautam Gambhir) today as well.”
Special appeal to Dhoni
While in Dhoni’s hometown, KL Rahul made a fervent appeal to the prince of Ranchi for the match. He said, “We’ve all been fans of MS Bhai. Knowing someone like MS and being his friend is a great thing. We’ve all played under him and with him. We’d love for MS to come and watch the match, and for a large crowd to come, and we’d love for him to win the match and make him happy.”
Hint on playing XI
Captain Rahul also clarified several points regarding Team India’s playing eleven in Ranchi. Rahul said that he has reviewed the Ranchi pitch and the record of matches played there. He believes that the pitch in Ranchi is good and will produce runs. Rahul also said that the dew factor will also be at play there.