'We have had a few issues, It was a bit tough': Dravid opens up on problems in India squad

The head coach of Team India, Rahul Dravid, revealed that a viral outbreak in the camp and the departure of some players made it difficult for management to assemble an XI for the Rajkot ODI. In the 3rd and final ODI against Australia, India had only 13 players to choose from. The trio of Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami, and Shardul Thakur had returned home while Shubman Gill was rested. Ishan Kishan was also forced to withdraw from the game because of illness.

3 things you need to know

• India won the series against Australia with a scoreline of 2-1
• Australia won the 3rd and final match of the series by 66 runs
• Shubman Gill was adjudged the man of the series

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Australia dominate India in final ODI

Wednesday turned out to be one of the days when nothing went in Team India's favour. It was a conundrum both on and off the field. First, the team management went through a struggle to put XI on the field, and when they did, it was Australia who ran riot with the bat. Batting first Australia got to a gigantic score of 352 at the loss of 7 wickets. In reply, India were in the hunt early on but lost its way in the middle overs and ended up losing the match by 66 runs. Glenn Maxwell proved to be the hero for the Aussies. While he failed with the bat, he did the trick with the ball and removed 4 Indian batsmen by giving away just 40 runs in his quota of 10 overs. Maxwell was adjudged the man of the match for carrying out such a performance. 

(Glenn Maxwell celebrates after taking the wicket of Shreyas Iyer. Image: BCCI)

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Rahul Dravid reveals what went wrong before the game

Following the match, India's head coach, Rahul Dravid, revealed the situation went out of hand as a viral had spread in the group before the match and some players had to leave for the Asian Games campaign.

“We have had a few issues with a bit of viral going around the group. It was a bit tough; it was a bit of a balancing act especially in this game because there were a few guys who had to go home for some personal reasons. There was also the team that was leaving for the Asian Games tonight, so Rutu [Ruturaj Gaikwad] and Tilak [Varma] had to join that team. There was a bit of jugglery that we had to manage,” he admitted.