India coach Rahul Dravid gives quirky reply to reporter’s Mitchell Starc, Shaheen Afridi comparison

India started the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on a winning note, as they beat Australia by an Innings and 132 runs in the first Test. India bowlers were in charge of Australia's both innings. The visitors were bundled out for 177 and 91 in their two innings. India, on the other hand, scored a mammoth 400 runs, with captain Rohit Sharma scoring a blistering ton.

With the second Test set to begin on Friday, February 17, the hosts will look forward to carrying the winning momentum. The second Test of the four-match series will be held at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Ahead of the match, India coach Rahul Dravid addressed the media, to discuss various topics. There was one question that arose to the Team head, regarding the lack of quality left-hand pacers, to which he gave a savage reply.

A journalist asked Dravid to share his views on the Team not having quality left-arm pacers. The media person asked the question while citing the example of Australia’s Mitchell Starc and Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi. He even asked why India are yet to find such quality pacers like Ashish Nehra and Irfan pathan. However, Dravid gave a savage reply to the reporter.

“A left arm fast bowler brings a lot of variation. You forgot the name of Zaheer Khan. But selectors and management definitely watch out for these talents. Arshdeep Singh played well in the recent ODIs, he also played Ranji Trophy, where he picked 4-5 wickets. He's young, he's developing. There are other guys who are performing. But only being a left-handed pacer will not help you get into the side, you need to perform as well,” Dravid said.

"Agar 6ft 4' bowler hain aapke paas toh aap batado (If you know someone 6ft4 bowler let us know). You took the names of Mitchell Starc and Shaheen Afridi, but in India, we rarely find someone as tall as 6ft 5' who bowls left-hand fast,” he added.

The coach said that the team is also looking at this issue quite seriously. He also said that the team knows the importance of having quality left-hand pacers but if you're only in that position then they cannot be considered. He added that in the case of Zaheer Khan or Ashish Nehra they didn't get a chance just because they were left-hand fast bowlers. He then pointed out the new talents, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, and Mukesh Choudhary.

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