As a coach, I'm looking forward to how our boys respond – Rahul Dravid

As India gear up for a fierce challenge against England over a period of five Test matches, Indian coach Rahul Dravid had a lot to say in the pre-match presser ahead of the curtain-raiser against England. From the surface shenanigans to who would be keeping wickets, the Indian coach shed light on every minute detail that would matter ahead of the opening contest of the series.

Talking in the media interaction about the surface, Dravid said, “Hard one to say. Just have a look once it starts and figure it out. It looks like a good one from what I've seen. May spin a little bit. How quickly and how fast, I'm not sure. But might spin a little bit certainly as the game goes on."

Shifting his focus to the wicket-keeping duties, Dravid added, “[KL] Rahul will not be playing as a wicketkeeper in this series. I think we were quite clear about that with the selection itself. We had picked two other wicketkeepers. Obviously Rahul did a fantastic job for us in South Africa and really played a big part in us drawing that series. But considering It's five Test matches and playing in these conditions, we felt we would go with another keeping option, considering the weather, considering the conditions. So obviously it's a selection toss-up between the two other keepers that we have."

Shedding a bit of light on England, he said added, “They've played really well. It's certainly been exciting to watch them play and they've had success playing like that. So why wouldn't you play like that? But we know it's going to be a challenge for them in these conditions as well. These are conditions that we know very well. We've got a lot of experience in our attack. As a coach, I'm looking forward to how our boys respond because I know that we'll be put under pressure and I'm really hopeful that we respond positively."