Rahul Dravid Highlights Lack of Red Ball Practice Behind India’s Test Batting Struggles
Former India captain and head coach Rahul Dravid feels that Indian batters who feature in all three forms of the game are not getting time to train on their Test cricket ability and this has contributed significantly towards the recent problems in red ball cricket in India.
India Test Cricket Recent Home Series Losses
India, who had never lost a home Test series during 12 years, have lost two of their three recent home series. In 2024, they were beaten 3-0 by New Zealand and in 2025, by South Africa 2-0, casting doubts on the effectiveness of the team in Tests.
Rahul Dravid on Multi-Format Scheduling Issues
During the introduction of The Rise of the Hitman, The Rohit Sharma Story in Bengaluru, Dravid said that constant transits between formats have meant a decrease in the preparation time of Test cricket, particularly of the players who play in all Tests and ODIs and T20 international matches representing India.
Red Ball Practice Time Before Test Matches
Dravid noted that at times, the team used to get to the venue only three four days ahead of a Test match meaning that time was of the essence to practice with the red ball. In other instances, batters had not been hit by a red ball in four or five months prior to a Test series so the change was very hard.
Test Cricket Skill Development According to Rahul Dravid
Dravid says that it needs time and patience before a person can develop the skills needed in Test cricket. Long hours of batting on turning pitches or seam wickets are strenuous physically and mentally and it cannot be mastered without practice with a red ball.
Subman Gill Supports Rahul Dravid’s View
The same sentiments have recently been expressed by India Test captain Subman Gill who said that the players are not being given time to practice Test series. He also asked the BCCI to take this issue into consideration when strategizing the schedule of the team.
Comparison With Rahul Dravid’s Playing Era
Dravid likened the present scenario to the time when he played, there were only two formats and no franchise cricket. He remembered that he had spent complete months in Test preparation that gave players a chance to improve their red-ball abilities. Conversely, the players today find it difficult to allocate time to do Test specific practice with the busy international and franchise schedules.
Subman Gill and Three-Format Challenges
Dravid has observed that Gill, who has been in all three formats recently, would have felt personally how difficult it is to switch rapidly into the Test mode of mind.
India’s T20 Success Versus Test Struggles
Although India have been struggling with Test cricket, they still prevail in T20. The team is already 3-0 leading New Zealand in a five match T20I series and are regarded as an overwhelming favourite in next years T20 world cup. According to Dravid, the high success that India has been having in T20Is is attributed mainly to the amount of short-format practice players have particularly in the IPL, where the batters are more preoccupied with power-hitting.
World Test Championship Concerns for India
But the results of India in the World Test Championship speak otherwise. They are presently ranked sixth in the WTC and must considerably change the outcomes to make it to the final in 2027. Dravid also pointed out that the pressure to win WTC points has contributed towards the production of more result based pitches and these usually favour bowlers.
Pitch Conditions and Result-Oriented Tests
He introduced the fact that this is not an India only trend but is occurring the world over with the teams being pressured more to win all Test matches. Although results do matter, Dravid emphasized that it must not be overutilized under extreme circumstances particularly during home matches.
Rahul Dravid’s Final Assessment on India Test Cricket
All in all, Dravid reckons that formats, red ball practising and controlling the pitch conditions will be significant should India wish to resume dominance in the Test cricket game.
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