Thiruvananthapuram: India batting coach Vikram Rathour has said that there are “a lot of areas” that team management is looking to improve and will sort out in the third ODI against Sri Lanka, scheduled on Sunday.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Rathour said: “We have won the series. Still, there are a lot of areas we would like to improve and are looking to improve. With being World Cup here, we are still working on it. This is again one more opportunity to do that against a decent team.”
The batting coach admitted that the management is working on improving the batting skills of the lower order. “Its not a concern, but we would like to get better at it. If we can get more runs from the lower order, it would be great. That’s the area we are looking to improve on. There’s been constant work being done in that area,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rathour said that we have always believed all-rounder Axar Patel has a lot of potential in his batting and it gives the team an extra option. “He’s been batting really well. He’s always been a good player. We always believed that he has lot of potential in his batting, and that’s what he’s shown lately, which is great for us. As a team, it gives us a lot of options as far as playing all-rounders.
“We have three guys who can bat really well. I am sure Jadeja will be back on the scene pretty soon. You have Axar and somebody like Washington Sundar. It’s great to have those options,” Rathour said.
Axar’s batting has caught the eye in recent times as a batter and has benefited the team in Ravindra Jadeja’s absence. He has scored 31*, 65, 21*, nine, and 21 in the ongoing white-ball series against Sri Lanka.
India has already sealed the three-match ODI series 2-0 and is aiming for a clean sweep when the Men-in-blue take the field on Sunday for the third and final ODI.
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