Dew factor will decide whether we play extra seamer or spinner: India Head Coach Ravi Shastri

India locked horns with England for the warm-up game ahead of starting their T20 World Cup 2021 campaign. The team is all set to kick start their campaign against the arch-rivals Pakistan on October 24. The India head coach Ravi Shastri, who is on his final assignment with team India, stated that ahead of the high-profile clash, dew will play a crucial role in deciding the team combination.

India is staged to play all their matches in the evening. In such conditions, the dew factor plays an important role wherein the spinners find it difficult to grip the ball and the batters enjoy a good time on the pitch. Shastri, on Monday, stated that depending on the dew and playing conditions, the team will decide whether to play an extra spinner or pacer in the match.

“We’ll just try to see how much dew is around and accordingly decide to bat/bowl first. Also helps us decide about playing an extra spinner or seamer.” Shastri told Deep Dasgupta during an interaction on Star Sports.

We’ll just see how things go and work a combination around: Ravi Shastri 

Quite a few Indian players who will be featuring in the mega event were a part of the Indian Premier League. It had played a big role in providing enough practice to the players ahead of the tournament. Shastri mentioned these aspects and asserted that most of the players do not need a lot of preparation owing to the IPL. He added that the practice games will help the side to get some rhythm and energy before heading into the tournament.

“Boys have been playing IPL for the last two months, so I don’t think they need too much of preparation. It’s more about them getting together and adapting together. Get some rhythm going, some energy going. Not really (regarding any locked strategy). We’ll just see how things go and work a combination around,” Shastri added.

India played their first warm-up match against England on Monday, October 18. After having won the toss, India elected to field first. England posted the target of 189 wherein India’s KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan provided steady starts and fashioned the team’s victory.