Rahul Dravid responds to criticism over selection calls against West Indies, says ‘ Virat and Rohit sat out to…’

livemint.com:

Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has responded to criticism regarding selection calls made in the second ODI match against the West Indies. India suffered a humiliating six-wicket defeat against the Carribeans at the Kensington Oval on Saturday.

Indian team were bowled out in the match for a score of 181 in just 40.1 overs with most batters failing to make a mark except the openers Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan. In reply, despite a somewhat shaky start, West Indies managed to chase the target down with six wickets left.

After the match, fans questioned the selection calls made by the team management during the match especially the omission of veteran players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Fans were also angry about players like Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson and Axar Patel not playing in their usual positions.

Notably, this is the first time India has lost out to West Indies in an ODI game in the last 4 years. Rahul Dravid while speaking to the press after the match said, "To give people chances, Virat and Rohit sat out.

We have to take those risks, we might have to take those chances in situations like that looking at big events. We want to give them (young players) as many chances we possibly can." “We just felt that in a series like this with two, three matches to go for the Asia Cup, playing Virat and Rohit would not have given us too many answers." the Indian coach added.