South Africa ODI series 'eye opener': Team India head coach Rahul Dravid

Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Venkatesh Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja

Cape Town: India head coach Rahul Dravid termed the One-Day International (ODI) series against South Africa as an "eye opener" on Sunday. An all-round performance helped South Africa beat India by four runs in the third ODI and complete the whitewash 3-0 at Newlands.

"The ODIs was an eye opener. The team hasn't played a lot. It was my first stint with the one-day side," said Dravid at the virtual press conference.

Although Dravid admitted that India "didn't play smart cricket at crucial situation", he stressed that the team will "reflect, learn and get better" going forward.

When asked about what did he make of KL Rahul's captaincy in the ODI format, the head coach said that he will get better. "He (Rahul) did a good job. It is not easy. He will learn. He is just beginning. The large part of captaincy is execution from players. He will get better, he said"

All-rounders Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar made an impact in the ODI series. When asked will they get more game time in the future, Dravid said that the management will be looking to give them more games. "He (Chahar) has got the ability to bat. I have seen him in India A. Both him and Shardul are great players. More and more players like them makes a big difference. We will look to give more games."

Dravid also noted that the team is looking for a sixth bowling option. "The idea is to try and develop Venkatesh (Iyer) or Hardik (Pandya) or (Ravindra) Jadeja as the sixth bowling option. We are looking at various things," he signed off.  (UNI)