Rahul Dravid did a press conference ahead of the second Test: Ahead of the second Test against Australia, starting on Friday in Delhi, India head coach Rahul Dravid was queried about the lack of left-arm seamer – and those of good quality – in the Indian Test team.

While the likes of Shaheen Afridi, Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, and Reece Topley have done well against India in the past – a point that a journalist mentioned to Dravid- India haven’t been able to get a long-term replacement for Zaheer Khan.

Jaydev Unadkat has recently made his comeback – after more than a decade-long wait – to the Test side and played a Test in Bangladesh when Shami and Bumrah were both out injured.

In India, though, Unadkat is unlikely to get a game against Australia, because he slides down the pecking order behind Shami, Siraj, and Umesh and India use only two pacers in home conditions.

When a journalist asserted the lack of a tall, left-arm seamer in the Indian team, Rahul Dravid hilariously told the journalist if he had any in his mind, he could give the team.

“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,” Dravid said in the press conference in Delhi.

Rahul Dravid admitted that he knows the importance of a left-arm angle

But he pointed out that the bowler needs to have quality, and only the left-handedness shouldn’t dictate a bowler’s selection. He pointed out that Zaheer and Nehra played for India because they were good bowlers and their left-handedness was bonus.

“We do look at it, we know the importance but if you’re only a left hand fast bowler then you cannot be considered. Be it Zaheer Khan or Ashish Nehra they didn’t get a chance just because they were left hand fast bowler but they were good,” Dravid added.

“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,” the coach said.

“We do look at it, we know the importance but if you’re only a left hand fast bowler then you cannot be considered. Be it Zaheer Khan or Ashish Nehra they didn’t get a chance just because they were left hand fast bowler but they were good,” he added.