Dilip backed his assertion citing KL Rahul‘s direct hit which removed in-form Litton Das throughout the T20 World Cup in Australia and finally helped India beat Bangladesh.
“There are certain areas where we have certainly improved over a period of time. If you look at the number of direct-hit percentages in the World Cup and that one direct hit from KL Rahul changed the course of the match,” Dilip instructed the media after India’s elective coaching session on the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
“That’s something we are looking at as a group and if you look at it’s overall ratio, even though there are no run outs, the number of times we have hit the stumps has improved a bit. That’s one area we will keep improving,” he added.
Dilip backed Rahul, who didn’t attend the elective coaching session, to proceed doing properly at No 5 as a wicketkeeper-batsman.
“We all know that KL Rahul is a wonderful player. He has a proven record. Even in ODIs, in the middle-order, he has proven enough as a batter. As a wicketkeeper, he gets a lot of balance into the team because he gives advantage.
“Since he’s not somebody who has picked the gloves simply now – he has been doing that since a youthful age – he provides a variety of issues. Not that tough to work on his wicket-keeping, aside from refining just a few points,” Dilip said.
Dilip said that the team is looking to have specific fielding drills and training for specific players so that they are best prepared to field at certain positions.
Hardik Pandya will be India’s stand-in captain for the first ODI on Friday, and Dilip backed the all-rounder to come good.
“He is the captain now formally. But he has been in our management group for all these matches and he is confirmed in T20s what he can convey on desk as a captain. Even if Rohit is the captain, he’s a part of our management group, he provides a variety of worth to the staff, not solely you, all of us are trying ahead to him. He is well-equipped to do it,” Dilip said.
The fielding coach added that senior players like Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja inspire the younger players to work on their fielding.
“They have confirmed over a time period, they’ve been position fashions when it comes to what they will contribute in fielding. Players do look as much as them. What particular I see after they come to follow is the depth. Even after proving themselves, they carry that depth, which rubs on to the kids,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com